This Fire Burns
by American Soldier
Summary: Crossover: Xander finds something old and powerful.
1. All I've Ever Wanted

This Fire Burns…Always

_**This Fire Burns…Always!!**_

Summary: Xander discovers something old and powerful.

Disclaimer: own nothing.

A/N: crossover with one of the most unjustly canceled television shows in the history of television. Yes, it is kiddy, and some of you might remember it, but the show is actually based on myth, so we shall accept it…or, at least, aspects of it.

A/N 2: Inspired by one of my favorite songs of the new generation.

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_I'll admit it…I am jealous._

_Not of any one person, mind you, but of a group of people…my friends. One is this 'blonde' girl with a superiority complex, and the other is my best friend since kindergarten…she's Buffy's best friend._

_Listen to me, bitching and moaning as I walk down this path. Sure, they both might have awesome powers and leave me behind because I'm oh-so-fragile, but that's no reason to groan about it._

_Wait…scratch that, I'll bitch all I want!_

_But, they're the least of my concerns right now. At the moment, my only concern is making sure this asshole doesn't get his hands on that sword._

_Man, two days ago, I was just a happy-go-lucky vacationer…now, I'm sneaking around some rich guy's castle as he prepares some weird kinda ritual to turn a regular sword into Excalibur or something._

_How'd I wind up here?_

ӨӨӨ

Two Days Prior…

"Look, just gimme a chance, I need the money," Xander Harris pleaded.

"I need the money that I'd hafta pay you," the gruff manager of Sky Castle Airport said, rubbing his hands on his mechanic overalls, "And even if I wanted to, I'd have to clear you with the owner, and I guarantee you he wouldn't let me hire you."

"…How about this," Xander tried, "I work for you as an extra pair of hands if you and yours help me with my car."

The man looked over his shoulder at Xander's car, a '49 Chevy that was little more than rust…with the engine resting beside it.

"Kid, you'd be better off just getting a new car," the man rubbed his hands again and said, "Tell you what, though: I got this old jeep that I've been meaning to sell. You work here for free, for a minimum of twenty hours a day, for at least a week, and it's yours."

"Twenty hours," Xander asked, not liking this deal.

"Twenty hours," the man said, "You can sleep in the shop, and I'll wake you up."

"Food," Xander asked.

"Get whatever scraps the guys'll give you," the man said, "Take it or leave it."

"…Deal."

ӨӨӨ

Xander leaned up against the plane in a huff, having finally gotten the engine up and working. There were 4 other guys working in the airport, repairing other planes and taxiing the few planes that came in. Instead of actually working, though, they'd taken it upon themselves to make the new guy's life a living hell. Xander knew enough about planes to know how to work on the engine, but that was it. Instead of which, these guys told him to take apart engines, fix them, work on the propellers, fix broken wheels, fix navigation systems, all kinds of shit that he had absolutely no idea how to do.

He sighed and walked over to the water fountain and took a long drink before getting back to it, knowing that the manager could renege on the deal at any moment. He was distracted, however, when the other guys started to whistle and holler. Taking a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow, he looked up over the plane…and lost all control of his jaw.

Walking into the room was nothing less than a Goddess. She was a tall, brunette beauty dressed in a mechanic suit with the top undone, revealing a red bikini top. She had ruby lips and the most perfect face that Xander had ever seen, even more beautiful than Cordelia. She was drinking a bottle of water, pouring its contents onto her body in one of the most alluring sights his young eyes had ever seen.

"THAT'S ENOUGH," Xander snapped back down to his work as the manager came in, "Anyone so much as breathes around my daughter and his pay goes to the yuppie! And, kid, you so much as think around her, I will kick your ass!"

"Yes, Sir," Xander barked out, letting Soldier Boy handle the situation.

"Daddy," the girl complained to her father, "Why do you have to be such an asshole?"

"Why do you have to put your ass on display," her father retorted.

The girl grunted out and quickly disappeared, leaving a noticeable void in the room. Xander sighed quietly and went back to work.

ӨӨӨ

Xander laid back in the cot as he waited for sleep to envelope him. A full day's work, literally, and pretty soon, he'd have to do it again. Still, the promise of a vehicle was enough to make him live with it.

Just as sleep began to claim him, he felt something fall onto his cot. Reacting on instinct, Xander pulled out his stake and pinned the person down.

"You know," the girl said, "You could just stake me with your own wood instead of that."

"The Hell are you doing here," Xander asked, backing off to let her up, "If your father sees me with you-"

"My father can rot in Hell," the girl said, "I'm so BORED around here! And, what the Hell are you doing with a stake?"

"I can't afford a knife," Xander lied, "And, that ain't none of my concern. That man holds my ticket out of here, and if he sees you with me, he'll probably try and kill me, let alone take the car away."

"Jesus, grow a spine," the girl said, "He's in the fucking castle tonight."

Xander turned around and looked out the window. Sky Castle was located less than a mile from the airport, home to the recluse millionaire who owned it. He had never even seen the man, but he knew that he had to have a good bit of money on him.

"Even so, he could come back at any moment," he responded, "You should go."

"…What's it like away from here, in this pit," she asked, seemingly deflating before his eyes, "I hope it's nice."

"It's…very nice," Xander said, backing up from her slightly, "Have you…never been away from here?"

"Dad's worked here forever, since before I was born," the girl said, "I'm sorry, but, I don't know your name…"

"Oh, you invade my bed and damn near make me lose my only way out, NOW you wanna know my name," Xander said, exasperated, "Well, how's about you telling me yours?"

"…Shelly," she said, extending her hand, "And you are…"

"…Xander," he took her hand and shook it, then let go and said, "Get the Hell out."

"God, can you quit worrying about my dad," Shelly raged, "He won't be back till tomorrow morning-"

"To wake me up from my four hour nap to get me started again," Xander said, "Tomorrow, I gotta finish work on an engine, clean all the planes, taxi in the two that're going to be coming in at noon, clean the floors and tools, clean the windows, put together an axel, and clean up the dog shit!"

"…He's making you do all that," Shelly said, "Christ, that bastard."

"I know," Xander said, "But, I need the car so I can get back home. I'm sorry that he keeps you on a tight leash, but that's really not my problem."

"Why the attitude," Shelly wondered, "You don't seem like the type of guy to just ditch a damsel in distress."

"Ordinarily, I'm not," Xander agreed, "But, you've caught me in that unique time when a combination of backbreaking labor and less than an hour worth of sleep makes me the most apathetic guy you can imagine. Now, LEAVE!"

"…He beats me when the guys aren't around," she whispered, curling into herself as she did so.

Xander felt any bit of anger he had towards her disintegrate on the spot. Sighing, he sat back in the cot and took a deep breath, letting her continue.

"He's a dick and a drunk," she muttered, "The guys all live a few miles from here, but we live up in the castle with Van Culvert."

"'Van Culvert,'" Xander wondered aloud and, at her nod, began to chuckle.

"What," she asked.

"Culvert's another word for 'gutter,'" Xander laughed, "Your dad's boss is a shit hole!"

Shelly began to laugh at that.

"He might as well be," she said after a few moments, "The guy's even more of a dick. He's nearly a hundred and leers at me like a teenage boy, no offense."

"None taken," he said, "And, you gotta admit, you do dress…provocatively."

"I suppose," she admitted, "Still, show some politeness, please."

"Well, what about earlier today," he said, "When you were putting on a show!"

"That was to annoy Daddy," she said, "He doesn't do anything to me when the guys're around. When they leave, though…I get it bad."

"…My dad used to hit me," he said with a sigh, "Whenever he got good and wasted, he would come find me and hit me for some random thing, or sometimes just because he felt like it."

"…Why do you think they do it," she asked him.

"I don't know," Xander said, "And I never wanna."

ӨӨӨ

Xander tossed the last tool into the bin with a pleased sigh. He tossed his rag into the bucket and leaned back in his seat, relishing in finally finishing with his work. He had another hour left till he was officially off, according to the boss, but, said boss was nowhere in sight, so, he decided to take the initiative and get to sleep early.

As he went for his cot, however, he heard a commotion from the front of the hangar. Moving quickly, he ducked behind a shelf and watched for who was coming.

"Damn it, Dad, what is going on," he watched as Shelly came into the hangar, followed closely by her father, "Since when does Culvert want to speak with me?"

"Since whenever he feels like, you little punk," he watched in horror as Shelly's father punched her in the face, sending her down to the ground, "Now, are you going to come quietly?"

"Daddy," Shelly was crying as she said this, "Daddy, why?"

"Van Culvert wants you, girl," he said.

Xander wanted to rise and beat the living shit out of the bastard, but the other 4 guys came around the corner, each dressed in black robes and armed with swords.

"And Van Culvert gets what he wants."

ӨӨӨ

Xander moved silently along the corridor of the castle, watching down below as the five men, led by Shelly's father, carried Shelly up the hall, strapped to a large board in a sacrificial manner. The hall itself was rather large and well lit by lamps and light bulbs. What fascinated him most, though, was the large statue at the head of the hall.

It was a man in robes with pointed ears, extending his claw-like hand to the sky as he held a lock of his hair.

"Wonderful," Xander turned his attention back down to the cult members as they were approached by an old man dressed in similar robes with a cane, "You have brought me your daughter. Are you quite sure she is sufficient?"

"As promised, Van Culvert," he responded, and the three men carrying the board lowered it down before the altar.

Wait…

Before Xander could contemplate that thought, he was attacked from behind and brought down to the floor.

"You dare invade this sacred ground," the cultist spat at him, "May you burn in the fires of Hell!"

"Fuck you," Xander spat, and then flipped him over onto his back.

He quickly got to his feet, but not quick enough as the man charged him again, this time sending both of them through the stained glass window and down to the ground. Xander rolled a few times before rolling himself into a sitting position, where he reached into his belt and withdrew his stake. He quickly got up, just in time to get tackled once more by the cultist, sending the both of them over the rise and rolling back down the hill towards the airstrip.

When they finally rolled to a stop, Xander groaned out in pain. The cultist was still on top of him, though he wasn't moving. Xander pushed him up and felt a sense of satisfaction as he moaned in pain. He came to his knees and examined the cultist, specifically the stake that was rammed into his abdomen with blood pooling around it.

Xander pulled out his knife and pressed the blade upon his neck.

"What the Hell is going on," Xander demanded, "What does Van Culvert want with Shelly?"

"Kill me, it does not matter," the cultist laughed, "Once her blood is spilt upon the sword, the one true god of gods and lord of lords shall resurrect me for my services and sacrifice!"

"So, he's trying to kill her to do something to some sword to raise some demon," Xander surmised, "That's just great."

After quickly checking him over, and finding a sacrificial dagger and a revolver, Xander came to the conclusion that this particular cultist was an absolute dumbass. Still, not about to question his luck, Xander took both the dagger and the handgun. He quickly stripped him of his robe and donned it himself, hoping that they wouldn't notice the blood…or the gapping hole.

Disguised and armed, Xander turned around and walked back up the path, wishing that he had Buffy or Willow or…Hell, even Angel with him.

Just someone with a bit more power than he had.

ӨӨӨ

Van Culvert watched in glee as the girl was strapped to the crucifix, preparing her for the bloody ritual that would grant his God freedom. It was so long in coming that his Dark Lord should walk the Earth.

He looked to the door as a series of knocks echoed upon it. His two loyal minions opened the doors, allowing their brother entrance.

"Excellent," Van Culvert said with a smile, "The boy is dead. Take your places, we haven't much time."

The five minions took their places on the pentagram, each happy to do so as they awaited their 'reward.' Fortunately, he had overlooked the detail that the ritual required not only one sacrifice of blood, but six sacrifices of the spirit. The blood sacrifice had to come from a virgin girl, while all six merely needed to be human and willingly doing so…the rules of the ritual never stated they had to be aware of their sacrifice, just willing.

Van Culvert reached into his robes and withdrew the sword. It was a piece of junk, really, rusted over and badly damaged from the many years of combat and service. He felt a strong sense of irony as he held the sword, knowing that its first owner had worked diligently to keep his God and His allies at bay, even as they tried to conquer both his kingdom and the Faerie Kingdom. Still, iron or not, his God would have His day.

He approached the altar with a precise pace, and upon reaching it, slid the sword into its place at the feet of the idol and directly below the girl. He withdrew his dagger and turned to stand before the five men facing him.

"In blood, shall He rise, just as in blood He was felled," he spoke, "Now, on this holy day, let the One True God come forth and wrought His vengeance upon the world!"

"Praise be to-" his men said before they were interrupted by the sound of thunder.

ӨӨӨ

Xander reached into his robes and withdrew the pistol and fired at the cultists. Van Culvert ducked down, but he nailed two of them. The other two quickly turned on him and fired back, causing him to duck and roll to the side, firing his last three shots at them. The first two nailed the nearest one in the chest, while the final one caught Van Culvert in the hand by a miracle, just as he was about to carve Shelly up.

The last one charged at him and took him down to the ground. Xander kicked him up over him and onto his back, then slammed the butt of his revolver into his head, dazing him. Xander got up and turned to his assailant.

"You," Xander growled as he pulled out his knife and pressed it against the man's throat, "How could you do that to your own daughter?"

"Immortality has its demands," the man said without any remorse, "Besides, I hate the slut's mother."

"…Asshole," Xander muttered as he slammed his fist down into the bridge of his nose, knocking him out.

Before he could do anything more, however, he felt a force lift him up and toss him into the statue. He groaned out in pain as he felt his left wrist snap.

"Pathetic," Xander looked up at Van Culvert, standing before Shelly with a bloody knife in his hand, "To think you could stop his ascent. A boy, such as you? Laughable."

Xander watched as the blood from Shelly dripped onto the sword.

"And now," Van Culvert swaggered over to him, "I don't think I'll rid the world of you, nuisance. I believe I shall keep you alive for my Lord."

Xander spat into his face, which caused Van Culvert to slap him.

"We'll beat you into submission, don't worry," he muttered, "Next time, save a bullet for me."

"…I did," Xander said with a grin, then he fired his last shot into Van Culvert, dropping him down to his knees as it went into his side.

"Math," Xander said as he came to his feet, "Because sometimes the difference between six and seven is pretty fuckin' important!"

Xander followed up his quip with a kick to Van Culvert's side, putting him onto the floor as he groaned in pain.

He turned his attention to Shelly. She was alive, with only her leg having been cut. Still, he figured it'd be best to move the sword to make sure that whatever Van Culvert had had planned wouldn't happen anyway. He grasped the sword…

"NO," Van Culvert shouted, but it was too late, as Xander was whisked away in a flash of light.


	2. Destiny to be Fulfilled

This Fire Burns…Always

_**This Fire Burns…Always!!**_

Summary: Xander discovers something old and powerful.

Disclaimer: own nothing.

A/N: I dunno if anyone's guessed the cross yet, if you have, awesome! If not, it shall be revealed in this chapter! Enjoy

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"Oh, no, my life's not too complicated," Xander's voice echoed against the stone cavern as he spoke, "Just ended an apocalyptic ritual, and the second I touch the sword, BAM!! I get sent to a cave in God knows where! This is NOT GOOD!"

Xander sighed aloud and reached into his pocket, pulling out his flashlight and turning it on. Near as he could see, he was in the darkest cave he'd ever seen in his life. It was gigantic, and cold to boot as he could see his breath in front of him. He looked all around him and took in the smells to see if he could smell fresh air or water, but he couldn't smell anything.

He looked down at his wrist: it was broken, without a doubt, and it was starting to swell. He would have to get it looked at soon, or start to work on it himself…and that would not be pleasant. He put the light in his mouth and examined the rest of himself, or he meant to until he got a look at the sword.

Before, it had been a simple piece of rust, but, now…now, he held in his right hand an ornate and capable weapon. The blade of the sword held writing in a language that he could not read. The hilt, however, was made entirely of gold and in the shape of a dragon's head. The eyes were made of rubies, and many Celtic symbols were carved into it. The handle itself was made of a polished red material that he could not identify.

"Well," he said, "That's unique."

Sighing to himself, he slid the sword into his belt loop, before deciding against that as he realized just how sharp and heavy it was. Pulling out some tape he had, he strapped the flashlight to his broken wrist and held the sword in his other hand and pressed forward.

ӨӨӨ

After about twenty minutes worth of walking, he quickly came to the resolution that he was going to die in this cave. However, he was not about to go quietly.

"I'VE BEEN WORKIN' ON THE RAILROAD, ALL THE LIVE-LONG DAY," he bellowed out, "I'VE BEEN WORKIN' ON THE RAILROAD JUST TO PASS THE TIME AWAY, HEY!!"

He abruptly stopped his singing when he heard something begin to crack. Pausing in his step, he settled himself and momentarily held his breath. After a few moments of nothingness, he straightened himself out.

"OK," he said quietly, "Better not sing again. Don't wanna cause an avalanche…or cave-in…or whatever they call it."

He walked on, coming to yet another abrupt stop as he realized that he was about to walk into a cavern.

"Whoa," he said, "That's brilliant, Xander, old boy. Walk into a fuckin' black hole, why don't you?"

He took a moment to steady himself, then turned to his left, then to his right where he saw a small path that led across the gorge.

"I must be outta my damn mind," Xander said, but walked towards it nonetheless.

He stood before it and inspected it closely. There were a few cracks in it, but it looked solid enough. He reached down and tossed a large rock onto it and was relieved when he saw that it didn't even crack. Smiling, he looked across the gorge. His smile evaporated as he saw several columns of ice, along with a very large ice structure that seemed to be blocking a path.

"Swell," he said, "Well, maybe I can squeeze past it."

Sighing, he sank down to his hands and knees, groaning out as his wrist provided him no small amount of pain. He put the flashlight in his mouth and placed the sword in front of him, then pushed forward. He carefully crawled along the bridge, making sure to keep his balance and to listen out for any sign that the bridge was failing. Before long, he made it across and quickly came to his feet.

He dusted himself off and picked up the sword, only to impale it into the ground as he turned his attention to the block of ice that was holding him up. He could see something inside the ice, but he wasn't certain what it was. It almost looked like a man…

Putting that aside, he looked at the walls surrounding the ice. There was only a tiny crevice through which he could see, but it was enough to let him know there was something behind there. He dug some of the dirt out of the way and kicked some of the ice loose. He leaned against the wall and shined his light through the hole. There was definitely a path through there, but that was all he could see. He thought he could smell fresh air, but it was possible that he just smelled the ice. Still, it was worth a try.

As he pushed himself up, he paused. He could swear he just heard the ice cracking around him. He walked around to the front of the blockage and stared at it. There were definitely some major cracks in it, but he didn't think they were there before. Sighing, he began to turn away until a flash of movement caught his eye. Turning his eyes back upon the ice, Xander stared deep into it. He thought he saw…teeth? He looked slightly upwards, and realized that he could just barely make out an eye. He stared at it, hoping against hope that what he thought was about to happen wouldn't happen.

And, just his luck, the eye moved to look at him.

"OH, SHIT," he shouted as he flung himself away from the ice as it exploded.

He rolled to the deck and barely managed to keep himself from going over into the gorge. He quickly came to his feet and turned to see what he was facing.

"What the fuck," he whispered.

Standing before him was a tall figure, dressed in armor. The armor itself was white and some dark color that he couldn't be sure of, but he figured purple. The white parts were all in the form of bones, surrounding its own body. It had on a helmet, which had horns and a faceplate depicting a skull. The figure was armed with a blade and had on a cape. At that moment, the figure stretched itself and let out a long bellow.

"AH," it said in a raspy voice, "It's been so long!"

It shook itself loose once more before turning its full attention to Xander.

"Ugh…hi," he tried.

"Huh," the figure said as he sized Xander up, "This is it? This is why I have been awakened after nearly a thousand years of slumber? A boy…a wounded boy, nonetheless? This is all the world has to offer the Ice Lord of Temra?"

"Excuse me," Xander interrupted, "I dunno who you are, I don't even wanna be here. I just wanna go home."

The 'Ice Lord' stared at him in obvious anger, and raised his sword up.

"You would do wise not to offend one such as me, boy," the Ice Lord said, "Your presence here is an insult to me, even if you have no wish to challenge me in battle."

"Look, you don't want me here, that's cool," Xander tried, "I just wanna get outta here, so, if you could point me to the exit…"

"That sword," the Ice Lord glared at it, "Where did you get it?"

"This," Xander said, "You want it, it's yours, just get me outta here!"

"Your insolence will only get you so far, boy," the Ice Lord remarked as he pressed the point of his sword up against Xander's throat, "Now…where did you get it?"

"…I took it off some nut who was using it to summon a demon," Xander explained.

"Impossible," the Ice Lord said, "The Sword of Kells cannot be used to summon a demon…unless…"

The Ice Lord tossed him to the floor and backed away from him, assuming a battle stance.

"Rise, youngling," the Ice Lord said, "You shall not leave here alive unless you defeat me in battle."

"…Joy," Xander said as he came to his feet and pulled out the sword with his one good hand.

ӨӨӨ

"Joy," Buffy remarked, "Not a vampire in sight…for the eighth week in a row."

"Could be worse," Willow said as she followed her Slayer-friend, "We could be facing an apocalypse."

"At least then, we'd have something to do," Buffy said with a grin, "I dunno, this summer's just been so boring!"

"Probably because it's the first one where you didn't have something going," Willow said, "That first year, you left to spend time with your dad, and last year, you…"

Buffy glared at her, not wanting to be reminded of the events of that summer.

"Sorry," Willow said, "But, on the plus side, you and I can spend time together."

"Yeah," Buffy smiled, "Just like old times. You, me, and…"

"…Yeah, I miss him, too," Willow said, "He's been gone for almost two months now."

"You know where he is?"

"No," Willow said with a frown, "My last letter came two weeks ago. He was in Nevada then, looking for work to fix up his car."

"Hope he's alright," Buffy said, "He'd sure be helpful right now, making sure we aren't bored."

"Well, me and him really didn't hang out after…you know," Willow said.

"Why is that," Buffy wondered, "I mean, Oz forgave you, how come you completely cut Xander out? You didn't even say goodbye to him when he left."

"Well, neither did you," Willow pointed out, "You were up in your room, crying over Angel."

"Well, he'd just left," Buffy argued.

"Two weeks earlier," Willow remarked.

"…Guess neither of us have been very good friends to him in a while," Buffy said, "Well, that's something we're gonna have to change when he gets back."

"Yeah," Willow said, "…Great, now I'm depressed."

"That's something Xander's Snoopy-Dance could help," Willow giggled at Buffy's comment, "Where's a Xander when you need one?"

ӨӨӨ

"Where's a Slayer when you need one," Xander grunted out as he rolled onto his back to avoid the slash that had been meant for his gut.

"Stay still," the Ice Lord grunted out as he attacked again.

"Fuck you," Xander shouted as he dodged again, this time kicking the Ice Lord in his shin.

He dropped down momentarily, giving Xander enough time to land a kick to his head and come to his feet. The Ice Lord spun around and attempted a thrust, but Xander moved to his side and tried to slice his head off. The Ice Lord ducked down and Xander wound up impaling the ground again as he lost his grip on the heavy sword. Fortunately for him, he had impaled the Ice Lord's cape as well.

As the Ice Lord swung at him, his cape pulled him back and made him lose his balance. Xander kicked him in the chest and the Ice Lord fell onto his back. Xander moved quickly and pulled out his knife and thrust it down onto his wrist, making the Ice Lord cry out in pain. Xander quickly relieved him of his sword and knelt above him, the point held steadily over the Ice Lord's throat.

"Finish it," he demanded.

"Not until I get answers," Xander growled, "How do I get out of here?"

"…Follow the path," the Ice Lord said, "It will lead you to your world."

"What do you know of the sword," Xander demanded, "What was he summoning with it?"

"…Tir Na Nog," the Ice Lord said with a chuckle, "The Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog, Kells, Temra, look them all up and you shall find your answer."

Xander was about to demand more, but before he could, the Ice Lord and his weapon disappeared in a green mist.

"…Well, at least I know how to get out," Xander remarked, picking himself up as he did so.

He took a moment to examine the many cuts and bruises that his short, but brutal fight with the Ice Lord of Temra, none of which look fatal. Sighing, he gathered up the 'Sword of Kells,' as the Ice Lord had referred to it and his other valuables and made his way down the path.

ӨӨӨ

An Hour Earlier…

Van Culvert whimpered as he pulled himself up. The bullet had gone through him, leaving a large gash in his side, one that could become fatal if he didn't get it looked at. Fortunately, he had quicker means at his disposal than simple medicine. Groaning, he steady walked over to a cabinet and pulled it open, revealing a large amount of mystical supplies. He pulled out several containers of materials and poured them on himself, groaning in pain as the magic worked to seal up the wound. Within a minute, the wound was sealed and free from infection.

Sighing, he replaced the herbs and turned his attention to the damage that little brat had done. All of his servants were dead, the sacrifice was wasted, and the brat had touched the sword. If a person true and noble in heart touched the sword, that person was automatically sent to be tested by Rath Kohen, the Ice Lord of Temra. If he won, he would be given the Mystic Armor of Fire, first worn by King Rohan himself over a thousand years ago. Fortunately for Van Culvert, the Ice Lord had only ever lost twice in his time, and the boy didn't even know how to use the sword properly.

He was forced from his thoughts by a moaning nearby. He followed the sound and was displeased to find that it wasn't one of his servants, but the sacrifice that was still alive. Still, that could prove useful, if given the right incentive.

He was once more jarred from his thoughts as another moan echoed out. Van Culvert turned and saw the father of the sacrifice come to his feet, clutching his head in pain.

"Did it work," he asked automatically.

"No," Van Culvert said, "Explain to me, if you would, who that young man was?"

He looked uncertain for a second, but answered, "He was the boy I hired to work down at the airport."

"Which I own," Van Culvert surmised, "And, you didn't think to tell me?"

"He just needed a car," he said.

"Then, why didn't you GIVE HIM ONE," Van Culvert shouted, "YOU KNEW THE RITUAL WOULD TAKE PLACE THIS WEEK, YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER THAN TO DO SUCH A STUPID THING!!"

"I thought he could be useful," he argued, "The boys weren't working as hard as they could have, they were so ready for the Lord's coming."

"Ugh," Van Culvert sighed, "Whatever, you imbecile. Pull your daughter down and take her to my bedroom."

"Sir," Van Culvert looked up, anger in his eyes at being questioned, "What do you plan to do with her?"

"…We lost four servants for the Lord today," Van Culvert said, "I plan on gaining Him a replacement."

ӨӨӨ

Xander kicked his way through the last of the rock, putting his hand up to block out the sun as it came pouring in. After a moment, his eyes adjusted and he looked out. He could see rolling hills and green grass, and several herds of sheep nearby, along with the ruins of an ancient castle.

"Where am I," he wondered.


	3. It Is In My Hands

This Fire Burns…Always

_**This Fire Burns…Always!!**_

Summary: Xander discovers something old and powerful.

Disclaimer: own nothing.

ӨӨӨ

"So, what's on the agenda for today," Buffy asked.

Giles had called her and Willow earlier that morning, asking them both to come in to discuss something that Giles considered to be incredibly urgent.

"Yesterday evening," Giles began, "Police conducted a raid of Sky Castle. They believed that the owner was the member of a cult and was preparing a ritual sacrifice."

"Sky Castle," Willow wondered, "Do you mean Shea's Castle? The one that billionaire built before the Depression?"

"The very same," Giles said, feeling a sense of pride for the child's intelligence, "When the police arrived, however, the ritual had already occurred. Officially, four bodies were found, three inside the castle with bullet wounds, and the fourth found outside the castle. His abdomen was punctured by what police believe to be a 'piece of fence.'"

"…A stake," Buffy guessed.

"I believe so," Giles agreed, "Buffy, you and I shall travel to Sky Castle and attempt to ascertain what truly happened last night."

"Wait, what about me," Willow asked.

"I need you to hack into governmental records and find out everything you can from the reports, and procure counterfeit documents announcing ourselves to be members of the law enforcement division."

"…Huh," Buffy said.

"Fake badges," Willow answered, causing Buffy to nod in understanding, "Then, why not wait till tomorrow to go? I can have all that done and more. If there's a ritual that might've taken place, you're gonna need me, cause, HEY," she extended her arms, "Witch girl!"

"Oh, very well," Giles said, not even bothering to argue, "Just have them ready for tomorrow. Considering how close that is to the Hellmouth, I don't even want to think what that could mean for us here."

ӨӨӨ

_This sucks. This sucks! This Sucks!! This SUCKS!! THIS SUCKS!!_

_OK, calm down, Xan-the-Man, calm down. Just because you've been walking for almost three hours now and not come across any signs of intelligent life, let alone human life, it does not mean you need to go completely looney-toons. Think about something pleasant. Think about…boobs! Boobs make you feel good. Think about holding them, caressing them, think about Willow's boobs…_

_OK, non-fluking thoughts, please._

_Think about Buffy's boobs…too small, not enough texture. Even Willow has a bigger rack then her. I dunno how that happened; I remember her being bigger when she first moved here._

_OK, think about Cordy's boobs…nah, can't do it without feeling guilty afterwards…_

_OOH…Faith._

…

…_Shelly_

…_._

…_Faith and Shelly._

…

_OK, calmer now. Alright, let's take another look around. OK, nothing but green and hills. Not even a path yet. OK, no problem. God, it's hot! Where's a milkshake when you need one?_

_Wait, what do I hear…running water! Awesome! A stream or something so I can quench my thirst; and, I can follow it to a town or something! My luck's starting…_

_Never mind, don't wanna invite that old Hellmouth luck down on me._

ӨӨӨ

Lori sat beside the stream as she listened to _In Bloom_ and watched the fish go by. The stream itself was fairly small, more often than not she'd only find a few small fish and, on rare occasions, some bigger ones, like trout. It was one of the many pleasures that she had found the countryside of Ireland had to offer. Her other pleasures included sneaking into the castles nearby and exploring while the tour guides were busy. She'd found quite a few things that had been claimed by the tour guides that'd found her, but, that was alright. She liked to find things just because it was fun.

She flicked her CD player over to listen to _Lithium_ as the clouds passed by to allow the sun to show its hideous face. God, how she hated the sun. She hated the night, too, though not as much. The sun provided a hazy light that simply burned her eyes to look at, while the night provided her no imagery at all, save that produced by the moon or artificial light. The nights when the full moon came out to play were the ones she enjoyed most. But, overall, she preferred the overcast times, rare as they were. When the daylight was shrouded over by a gray blanket of uncertainty, when you could not know if it was to rain or to remain dry…those were the times that she found most enjoyable. It was the perfect amount of light and dark in the weather to please her.

She switched over to _Come As You Are_ as the clouds came over again, blocking out the sun. It was during this brief space in which there was no music that she heard the sound of someone moving in the water.

ӨӨӨ

Xander walked into the water and scooped up some in his hands, drinking as much as he could before it slipped through his grasp. The sword was imbedded in the ground nearby, standing tall where he could see it. Sighing, he sat down and took off his shirt and let his wrist soak in the water. So far, this stream was the best thing that had happened to him in the past day and a half. Still, he had no idea how far away from home he was, or even if he was on the same Earth. He put those thoughts aside, figuring there was no reason to drive himself crazy by worrying about things that were outta his control.

"Excuse me," Xander looked up and thanked every God he'd ever heard of.

Standing before him was a beautiful girl with fiery red hair. She was dressed in a pair of jean shorts and had on a black _Alice in Chains_ t-shirt, with a plaid t-shirt wrapped around her waist, tightening the shirt and unintentionally showing off her toned stomach and…other nice feminine features.

"Eyes up, mate," the girl said with a smile.

"Sorry," Xander said, looking up into her freckled face and green eyes.

"S'alright," she said in a very Irish sounding voice, "You're only a Y, after all."

"Y," Xander wondered.

"Y chromosome," the girl said with a grin, extending her hand, "Name's Lori."

"Xander," he responded, shaking her hand with a smile.

"You're not from around here, are ye," she asked.

"Dunno," he said honestly, "Where exactly is here?"

"Well, a Yank like you would probably know it best as 'Ireland,'" Lori said.

"…Somehow, the accent shoulda given me a clue," he said with a grin, coming to his feet.

"Bloody Hell, what happened to you," Lori asked, examining his many wounds.

"Oh, I stopped this Satanic ritual and wound up touching that sword," he pointed up at it, "And having to fight a demon who called itself the 'Ice Lord of Temra.'"

"Sounds like a full day," she said lightly, "I must admit, that's the most intricate duplicate I've ever seen."

"Huh," Xander wondered, following her as she headed for the sword.

"The sword," Lori said, extracting it from the dirt and examining it closely, wiping the dirt from the blade as she did so, "It looks a lot like the original legends describe it, right down to the runes and the writing on the blade."

"Original legends," Xander said, seeing an opportunity, "Well, to be quite honest, I don't know too much about them. Care to enlighten me?"

"Well, how could you not, I assume you're in town for the festival," Lori said, "…Although, you did say you weren't sure where here was."

Lori stared at him, sizing him up again, then said, "You don't have a clue about anything that I just said, do you?"

"…No," Xander said, "Except for your name and the fact that this is Ireland."

"…You got some explaining to do, Yank," Lori said, seriously, "So, how'd you get here?"

"…How's about a shower first," Xander said, "By myself…not that you're not pretty or anything…I don't mean…I'll stop now."

"That'd be wise," Lori smiled, " Come on, I'll take ya home. Me granddad'll be sleepin' right now and me sisters'll still be in school."

"I thought it was still summer," Xander said, taking the sword from her.

"It is, but they're at that beautiful age when they think of nothing but clothes and boys," Lori said, walking alongside him as they started forward, "So, they got shitty grades."

"Sounds like me," Xander said, watching as she put an earphone into the ear opposite of him, "Only, I was thinking of boobs and…well, mostly boobs."

"Honest," Lori said, "That gets you points. Oh, and you cannot sleep with my sisters if you meet them."

"…OK," Xander said, wondering where that came from.

He and Lori walked in silence for a while, till she started singing the lyrics of _Smells Like Teen Spirit_, offering him her other earphone. Xander took it and the two began to sing along to _Nirvana._

ӨӨӨ

"Right, here it is," Lori said as Xander walked up behind, clean and dressed in a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt that fit him, "The Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog. They're something of a legend around here. Oh, there's toast in the microwave."

"Thanks," Xander said, grabbing himself a slice and putting on some jelly, "So, what's the jest of the legend?"

"It's about four young warriors from the old kingdom of Kells that fight the evil witch-queen Maeve of Temra. Each legend recounts them fighting off a monster or one of Queen Maeve's sorceries. The legends abruptly end when Rohan, Maeve's son and the Mystic Knight of Fire, banishes her to an island. That last legend, however, makes mention of the Faerie King predicting the rise of another witch-queen. Whatever happened after that was never recounted."

"Sounds like you actually believe it happened," Xander commented, munching on his toast.

"It's a fantastic story," Lori admitted, "And, I will say that I did spend many summers here in my childhood looking for the Faerie Ring, the gateway to the Faerie World. Ah, take a look at that."

She pushed the book towards him. Xander opened it up to the page and saw a drawing of a blonde man dressed in red and gold armor, holding a sword in his hand.

"That's King Rohan, the Mystic Knight of Fire," Lori said, "That sword looks almost exactly how that artist drew it."

"…You don't say," Xander muttered, starting to connect dots in his head, "You keep on mentioning the elements, like fire and water, so…what exactly did these weapons do?"

"Well, legend says that the weapons were given to them by the Faerie King," Lori said, "Each one could do something to do with that element. The sword is supposed to be able to superheat and cast off bursts of flame. And, no, it doesn't mention how King Rohan was able to do it."

"Swell," Xander said, somewhat disappointed.

"…You think that's the real thing, don't you," Lori wasn't really asking, she just needed to know.

"…Do you believe in vampires," he asked, sitting down in front of her.

"Not really," she said, baffled by the sudden change in subject, "What does this have to do with anything?"

"…It all started with a girl."


	4. I Must Not Fail 1

This Fire Burns…Always

_**This Fire Burns…Always!!**_

Summary: Xander discovers something old and powerful.

Disclaimer: own nothing.

A/N: sorry about the delay, it's been crazy as Hell around here. Anyway, enjoy!

ӨӨӨ

"So…do you think I'm crazy," Xander asked.

"Crazy…might be a bit strong," Lori said, her eyes still wide from the information that she'd just taken in, "Your story is…fantastic, to say the least."

"But, you don't know whether or not to believe me," Xander said, smiling, "I understand, it's alright. When I first heard the story, I didn't believe it either…till vampires took my brother."

"…I'm sorry," Lori said, sensing the genuine sadness radiating off of him, "But, if that's true, then…you have the genuine Sword of Kells, the Fire-Sword. You even defeated Rath Kohan, the Ice Lord of Temra…you could be the Mystic Knight of Fire!"

"…Odd," Xander muttered, a troubled look coming across his face.

"What," Lori said, "Something wrong?"

"It's a strange coincidence," Xander mumbled, "That I should wind up in this part of Ireland and meet you, someone who's spent a lifetime researching the myths of Tir Na Nog."

"You think there's something else going on here," Lori said, "Destiny, perhaps."

"I hope not," Xander said, "If there's one thing I've learned over the years…destiny's a bitch."

"…So, what do you wanna do now," Lori asked.

"Sleep," Xander answered honestly.

"Me bed's a bunk bed, from when me older brother lived here," Lori said, "You can take the top, I sleep on the bottom."

"Thank you," Xander said, standing up and heading for the stairs, "If you want, while I'm out, you can take the sword up to the festival and see if someone can appraise it or something."

"I might do that," Lori said, "The medieval festival doesn't end till tomorrow, though, if you wanna come with."

"No, that's fine," Xander said, coming out as more of a yawn, "Better to go ahead and get it done."

"How do you know that I won't take it and sell it," Lori asked, curious.

"Because if you do, I shall find out and shall get it back," Xander said, his tiredness making him want to get out of the situation as fast as possible.

"Hmm," Lori said, "Well, let me show you upstairs to me room."

"Thanks," Xander said, letting her go ahead and admiring her backside as she climbed the stairs.

"None of that, now," Lori said with a smile, "You're such a Y."

"Get over it," Xander said, crankiness setting in.

"I'll attribute that to tiredness," Lori remarked, standing beside a door, "This is it."

She opened the door and let him go inside. Immediately, he could tell that this was her room. The smell of cinnamon caught him by surprise, but otherwise, it was the most unique mixture of darkness, gloom, and art that actually made him feel pretty good to be there. The walls were covered by paintings and posters, mostly her own artwork and bands such as _Nirvana, Pearl Jam, _and _Alice in Chains_. The paintings were each unique, ranging from fairy tale landscapes to portraits of herself and her friends and family. There was a large desk nearby, where her computer sat, with the sounds of _Would_ by _Alice in Chains_ coming out. The curtains were thick and dark enough to completely blot out the sun, pleasing him to no end as he climbed the bunk bed to the top.

"I'll try and let you get a good six hours of sleep," Lori told him as she entered the room with blankets and a pillow, "If I find something important, though, I'll come and get you."

"Thanks, Lori," Xander said as he settled himself in, "See ya in a bit."

"Night," she said as she closed and locked the door.

ӨӨӨ

Willow looked up from her computer just long enough to say, "I found something!"

Giles and Buffy walked over to her and stood behind her, looking down at the computer screen below them. There was an image there, of five people standing in a pentagram before an alter, with a girl strapped to a crucifix and an old man before her, armed with a sacrificial dagger.

"What is this," Giles wondered aloud.

"It's the security footage from Sky Castle, the night of the raid," Willow answered, "The police already have it in their files, so I figure it'd be best if we go over them."

"Excellent idea, Willow," Giles said, scooting closer and leaning to get a better look, "Have you played it all the way through?"

"No, not yet," she said.

"Let's see what's on the tele," Buffy said, earning odd looks from both Giles and Willow, "What?"

"Play it," Giles said, shaking his head.

Willow pressed play and allowed the footage to continue on, making sure to have her hand on the mouse to stop something gruesome from being shown.

"_In blood, shall He rise, just as in blood He was felled_," the old man spoke, "_Now, on this holy day, let the One True God come forth and wrought His vengeance upon the world!_"

"_Praise be to-_" the other five men got that far, till the one farthest back pulled out his gun and began shooting.

"Who is that," Giles asked, "An undercover police officer?"

"No," Willow said immediately, "Nothing in the reports mentioned a man undercover."

They watched all the way through, never getting a clear enough look at the rescuer as he mowed down all the cultists in a bloody, but short battle. The battle, however, seemed to come to an end when the old man tossed him around with magic. When the man slid down to a stop, his face was at just the right angle to give them a clear look.

"Oh, my God," Buffy whispered, "Is that…"

"Lemme see," Willow said, pausing the video and using her equipment to zoom in on the men's face.

She focused in on his face and quickly cleaned up the image to show them the pained face of their friend, Xander Harris.

"Xander," Buffy said, "What the Hell is he doing there?"

"Trying to save the girl, I gather," Giles said, cleaning his glasses as he did so, "How he got there, though…"

"He told me he was in Nevada, last time I got a note from him," Willow said, "That was two days ago."

"I thought he told me he wouldn't be doing stupid stuff like this," Buffy grumbled.

"You'd rather let that girl die," Giles said, shocked by her attitude.

"I'd rather he lived," she returned, "He's probably dead now."

"You give him too little credit," Giles said with a scowl, "…However, it is a possibility. Do you wish to continue…with the video?"

"Yes," Buffy said immediately, "We have to know."

Willow looked tentative, but she nodded and started the video again.

"_Next time, save a bullet for me,_" the old man said as he stood above Xander.

"…_I did,_" Xander said as he fired his last shot, sending the old man to his knees.

"_Math,_" Xander said as he came to his feet, "_Because sometimes the difference between six and seven is pretty fuckin' important!_"

"That's such a Xander thing to say," Willow said, laughing at the _Dirty Harry_ reference.

"Asshole," Buffy muttered, "He should've never gotten involved."

"Give it a break, Buffy," Giles said, a smile on his face, "He obviously succeeded, at least in saving the girl. There were only three bodies found in the castle."

"What's he doing," Willow wondered, bringing their attention back to the video.

The three of them watched as Xander took the sword in his hand, and abruptly disappeared from the screen.

"What the bloody Hell," Giles muttered.

Suddenly, the screen went red.

"What's happening," Buffy asked.

"They found me," Willow said as she feverishly went to work on covering her tracks, before she just gave up and canceled the connection, "Damn, that was close. We'll have to be careful if we do that again, they found me way too fast."

"…Giles, what happened," Buffy asked.

"I haven't the foggiest," Giles said, cleaning his glasses again, "That appeared to be just a rusted sword to me."

"Well, we need to figure out what happened," Buffy said, standing up, "Willow, you need to get to work on those badges right now. Giles, you and I will get to researching, try and figure out what that thing was. We leave as soon as the badges are ready, and we're going to find out what happened to Xander. I'm not about to lose another friend."

ӨӨӨ

_Ugh, why can't I go to sleep? Come on, Xander, sleep! Shut your mind down!_

…_Ah, fuck, I'm so tired. That's gotta be why I can't sleep, too tired to sleep. Too worried. Hell, I may not be a Watcher or a Slayer or a witch, but I got instincts, and those instincts tell me that I'm involved in something BIG. That sword fits into this, somehow, and I need to figure out how. More importantly, I need to figure out what demon those bastards were trying to summon. I need to know what I'm facing._

_I just hope Shelly's alright. I didn't even see what happened to her. Van Culvert and her SOB of a father were still alive, so God only knows what happened to her. I hope she's not another one…another woman that I've let down._

_Hopefully Lori won't have to join that list._

ӨӨӨ

_Am I insane? Here I am, walking in the medieval festival, with a sword that could possibly be King Rohan's own personal sword, and it was given to me by a guy that claims to have fought vampires for the past 3 years of his life. Dear Lord, what have I been smoking…_

_OK, so I haven't smoked pot in a week, maybe that's why this is happening. If I'd been smoking me pot instead of admiring nature when he came up to me, I wouldn't have done a damn thing. Oh, well, such is life._

_Let's see if I can scrounge up someone who'll give me an appraisal…_

ӨӨӨ

"I must say," the armored man said as he examined the sword, "This is exquisite. Did you make it yourself?"

"No, I found it," Lori said, choosing to go with a half-truth.

"Found it," the man said in disbelief, "Where?"

"A ruin not far from here," she made up, "I found it in a crevice."

"…Dear God," the man whispered, "This looks…exactly like the Sword of Kells. It's in remarkable condition," he put down his visor, then lifted it up again, "This would make a killing on the market."

"I'm not interested in selling it, I'm interested in whether or not it's authentic," she said.

"Well, I cannot say for sure if it's authentic, I'd have to run some tests on it," he answered.

"Well-" her thoughts flew away from her as she felt a hand run up against her butt.

She swiftly turned around and fought to not gag from the stench the man's breath was putting out, obviously from many years on the bottle. He smiled a toothy smile, showing her his disfigured teeth.

"Hello, girl," he said with an American accent, "You're a cutie."

"You're drunk," she replied, pushing him away from her, "Get lost, you bloody piece of crap!"

"Oi, fuck you, girl," the man said, shaking himself off, "Very well, then. I'll take my pleasure elsewhere!"

"Fucking disgusting," she muttered, shaking herself loose as she turned around, "Can you believe some people?"

She stopped speaking as she realized that the man, and the sword, were nowhere to be seen.

"Hello," she called out before walking forward several paces, turning a corner just in time to watch the armored man ride off on a brown horse…with the sword.

"Oh, fuck," she muttered.


	5. I Must Not Fail 2

This Fire Burns…Always

_**This Fire Burns…Always!!**_

Summary: Xander discovers something old and powerful.

Disclaimer: own nothing.

ӨӨӨ

Xander woke up suddenly as a whining sound entered his ears. He looked around the room for a moment, wondering what all these odd things were doing in his room…when it all came back to him. By that time, the phone had stopped ringing and an answering machine picked it up.

"_Xander,"_ Lori's voice shouted, _"Are you there!? PICK UP!!"_

"Shit," Xander shouted, and he moved off the bed, only to lose his footing and fall painfully onto his back. He grunt and pressed himself up, only to shout out in pain as he had tried to use his injured wrist to get up, "God Damn!"

"_Xander, if you're there, someone stole the bloody sword!"_

Xander ignored the pain at that and moved as fast as possible, getting downstairs and picking up the phone quicker than he should have been able to.

"What," he shouted into the phone.

"Someone stole the sword," Lori said to him, a worried tone in her voice.

"Damn, what happened," he asked, and Lori recounted the whole tale to her, "OK, where are you?"

"A payphone at the festival," Lori said.

"Alright, the guy that felt you up, is he still there?"

Lori was silent for a few moments as she looked around, then said, "I see him."

"It's too convenient that this guy would feel you up just as this prick steals the sword," Xander said, "I want you to keep an eye on him, but don't fight him unless you absolutely have to. How far is the festival from your house?"

"About an hour's walk," Lori said, "Oh, but there's a bike in the garage!"

"Excellent," Xander said.

"Just get on the road and there'll be signs pointing the way," Lori said.

"K," Xander responded, "See you soon."

ӨӨӨ

"Giles, who is that," Willow asked the watcher.

"Hmm," Giles bent down to look at the computer screen, which had a still shot of the castle interior, where Xander had engaged the cultists, "Who is who?"

"That," Willow said, pointing to the large statue in the room.

"Likely the mythical god that these cultists worshipped," Giles responded, "A fairly large depiction of it."

"It doesn't look like a demon, though," Willow noted, "It looks more like an elf."

"Hmm," Giles leaned forward and stared at it, "I believe you might be right."

"Do elves exist," Buffy wondered.

"Not to my knowledge," Giles said, not turning away from the picture, "It may be a Faerie."

"A Faerie," Buffy wondered, "Like a Leprechaun? I thought you said those were fake."

"Indeed, they are," Giles said, standing up and walking towards his books, "Leprechauns are a fictitious Faerie the Irish natives thought up as folklore. They are, however, based on real Faeries that once occupied that area."

"Once," Willow asked.

"It seems that at some time in the medieval centuries, a force evicted the Faeries from that part of the world," Giles said, flipping open one of his books, "I'm not very familiar with the events which led to it, only that all the Faerie Rings were destroyed or rendered inert."

"So," Buffy thought for a moment, "These guys were trying to summon a Faerie?"

"Indeed," Giles said, continuously leafing through his book, "Ah, here we go. The Legend of Tir Na Nog."

ӨӨӨ

Xander skidded to a halt just outside the festival. He chained up the bike to a post and walked into the festival, looking around for Lori.

"Xander," he turned around and saw her come up to him, "He's gone."

"Gone," Xander said, "You lost him?"

"Yeah," Lori admitted, shame on her face, "I don't know where he went off to."

"Alright, which way did your horseman ride," Xander asked, thinking as fast as he could.

Lori pointed off towards the woods and Xander quickly turned and headed that way.

"What's your plan," Lori asked as she caught up with him.

"We find the drunk, we follow the drunk, then we take back the sword," Xander said with conviction.

"That's all well and good, but I don't think they'll be inclined to just hand over to sword," Lori said.

"That's why I brought these," Xander said, pulling out two knives and handing one to her.

"Can we quit being a Y for just one minute," Lori asked, frustrated, "What happens if they have a gun? Did you think of that?"

"Yeah, I thought of that," Xander said, "Hence, why we're going to recon first before we actually attack!"

"Oh," Lori said, "Well, what about the police, then? Constable Grisham could handle this for us!"

"One thing I learned in Sunnydale," he responded, "Is that you never EVER trust the police."

Xander sighed and walked on, choosing to not speak as he risked seriously chewing her out by doing so. He was frustrated enough as it was.

ӨӨӨ

"Horse tracks," Xander muttered as he and Lori moved softly through the forest, "Fresh, too."

"Sh," Lori shushed him, "Look."

Xander looked up and saw a man walked deftly through the woods, dressed in drab robes with a bottle of something in his hand.

"Luck," Xander muttered, "I never like it."

"Why not," Lori asked as the two moved forward.

"Because it always means something bad's waiting around the corner," Xander muttered.

ӨӨӨ

Edwards quickly walked into the small house in the forest where his semi-partner, Smithers, worked on his antiques. As a dealer, he wasn't the most honest or legal one, but he made a pretty penny, enough to finance Edwards' drinking habits.

"Good work out there," Smithers complimented him, now out of his armor.

"Yeah, yeah, how much do I get," Edwards asked as he sat down at Smithers' worktable, where the sword he had nicked was placed, with a magnifying glass over it.

"You and I, my friend," Smithers said, putting his tool down and smiling down at him, "Are very rich men."

"How rich," Edwards asked, "Eat lobsters from Maine for a month rich or Trump rich?"

"Eat lobsters from Maine with Donald Trump personally serving us rich," Smithers said with a bigger smile, "This sword, near as I can tell, is the actual Sword of Kells. It matches all the descriptions, the runes, the designs. At first, I thought it was just a really good replica, but, upon further examination, I found that the blade was folded in a manner that no one in today's world could possibly duplicate correctly. I will take it with me to London and get it carbon dated, then, you and I shall sell it!"

"Hold on, there," Edwards asked, a suspicious look on his face, "You aren't thinkin' a takin' it to London all by your lonesome, now, are you?"

"Of course not," Smithers replied with another smile, "You and I, my drunk friend. Rich together, all the way."

"Rich," Edwards smiled, "I like the sound of that."

"As do I," suddenly, Smithers moved forward, and slid his formerly hidden blade deep into Edwards' side, driving it upward to impale his lung, "Course, I like the sound of being rich alone better than rich with you."

"You…fucking…bas…" Edwards collapsed to the ground as Smithers dropped him, quickly drowning in his own blood.

ӨӨӨ

"Oh, God," Lori whispered.

"If you need to throw up, back away quietly," Xander muttered, not at all fazed by the gruesome murder.

"No, no," Lori struggled to hold it in, but managed, "I'll be fine."

"Are you sure," Xander asked, "You have nothing to prove."

"I'll be fine," Lori responded, her stubbornness coming to the surface.

"Fine," Xander acquiesced, "Alright, here's the plan, I'll go in the front and take him by surprise, then you come in the back and take him, don't get too close, just make sure you got him covered."

"OK," Lori said, her face flushed.

"Are you sure you wanna do this," Xander asked, giving her an out.

"I'm sure," Lori responded angrily, but kept her voice down as she did so.

"…Alright, then."

Xander circled around the hut, moving as quickly and as quietly as he could. He positioned himself at the front door and slowly measured himself, and the door, before shouting at the top of his lungs and kicking it in with a mighty blow.

Smithers turned to him quickly, his blade still in hand.

"Drop the fucking knife," Xander shouted.

Behind him, Lori came in, armed with her own knife. Smithers turned to her for a second, then turned back to Xander, a weak smile on his face.

"Ok," Smithers said, dropping his weapon, "I surrender."

_That's too easy_, Xander thought, but decided that he would take him at his word.

"Don't move," Xander warned him as he came closer, easily stepping over the drunk's body.

He took his eyes off of him as he put his knife down and grasped the sword in his hand. In that moment, though, he heard the sound of a scuffle, and quickly looked up.

Lori was in front of the thief, her own knife pressed to her throat, drawing a slim trail of blood from her. She was whimpering and her eyes were displaying her fear.

"Now," Smithers said smugly, "You don't move."

Rage…hatred…fury…all these things were circumventing through him as he stared into Smithers' eyes. Hatred for himself for leading them into this situation, subdued fury at Lori for getting caught when he'd told her not to get too close, and fury…fury at this man for daring to assault his friend, for killing his own partner, for stealing the sword.

He could feel his hate building up, like a hot flame engulfing his entire being. Then, suddenly, it was gone…replaced by an effervescent…calm, for lack of a better word.

"Sweet God in Heaven," he heard Smithers say, finally bringing himself out of his feelings and into the world.

Smithers and Lori were both staring him, an odd glow about their faces. He stared at them, puzzled by it for a minute, before following their gazes. They were staring at the sword…the Sword of Kells…that was ablaze in a radiant spire of flame.

A few rags hanging from the rafters lit up from the heat, easily beginning to engulf the entire cabin in flames. Smithers stared at him for a moment before coming to decision. He quickly moved away and tossed Lori to him, then ran from the back door into the woods. Xander caught Lori and made sure to keep the sword away from her, then pulled her out as he took off in pursuit.

After getting a good distance away from the house, he stopped, letting Lori come up beside him. He scanned the area quickly until his eyes rested on thief's running form. He grimly brought the sword up, pointing it in his direction, and took aim as he would with any weapon. He stared at his target with the calm gaze of a professional, then let his hate come out once more. The sword spat out a burst of flame, not quite a ball, but not a stream either. The flame flowed through the air until coming in contact with the thief, making his scream an inhuman wail of pain as the fire burned him. Before even a minute, though, his screams were quelled as the fires brought him down, ending his life in this world.

Xander stared out into the woods for a moment before bringing the sword down and resting it on the ground. He felt…horrible for what he had just done, but he knew that he could not let such a man continue to walk in this world. While it was not his first time sending a man to the death, this was the first time he had chosen to kill a man who had fled. The truth was that he didn't know exactly why he had done so, but he did know that it was what was necessary. To let a man who would steal and kill his own friend live in this world was a crime, and for every death that man would have caused later on, Xander would have shared in that guilt.

However, his heart felt…lessoned by this, as though his entire being had been purified. It was a spiritual, nearly religious experience. All the hatred that he had felt mere moments ago was gone.

"The sword," he said to himself, "It takes the hate…and casts it out at its enemies. Everyone hates, no matter how noble…but this sword provides an outlet…it provides a way to keep the hate from taking over."

He sighed, then pulled the sword up and rested the flat side on his back. As he did so, however, he realized that he had used his injured hand. He looked at it, seeing that the swelling had completely disappeared and the bone in the wrist looked completely normal.

Sighing, he turned his attention to Lori. She had passed out from the shock of it all, and the cut on her throat had quickly clotted up, so he knew that she wouldn't die from blood loss. He bent down and felt for her pulse and was relieved to find it there, strong but erratic. He quickly slid the sword into his belt, hoping that it wouldn't come out, and picked her up. He paused for a moment, staring at the burning cabin that had changed this young girl's life.

Sighing at the injustice of it all, he turned around and started back, following the trail that he and Lori had made, knowing it would lead him back to the festival. As he did so, he started to sing.

"_Even Flow,"_ he belted out, _"Thoughts arrive like butterflies! Oh, he don't know, so he chases them away! Someday yet, he'll begin his…life again!"_

ӨӨӨ

Los Angeles…

Van Culvert stared at the loft in a mixture of annoyance and relief. After the police raid, he and his last minion had barely escaped with the girl intact. His castle was underneath the control of the police, along with the vast majority of his tools, including the alter to his God.

Sighing, he searched the loft over to see if it had been disturbed. It was mostly a library with a couch in it, while an upstairs area was designed for sleeping in. At the center of the room sat a marble table, and upon it was a silver chalice with multiple rubies and sapphires.

"Put her on the mat," Van Culvert said, and the man placed his daughter down before the chalice.

"Kneel," Van Culvert said, and the minion kneeled down before the table.

Van Culvert walked over to the lights and turned them off, then turned on his fireplace. He placed a pot of water above it, holding it there for some time. When he felt it was ready, he pulled it away and poured the water into the chalice, causing it to steam up as soon as it hit.

Van Culvert put the water away and went to a cabinet above the fireplace, pulling out several containers of materials. He poured in several of these chemicals, causing an odd smell to enter the room. The water had turned black from all the contents and was shining slightly, the black sending off a light that went against nature itself.

Van Culvert pulled out a knife and placed his hand above the chalice, then quickly cut into his palm, tipping it sideways to allow a steady stream of blood to flow inside. Quickly, the black substance shifted colors once more, coming to a green mixture. Van Culvert knelt down before the chalice and bowed his head.

"Oh Lord of Hosts," he spoke, "Your servant humbly beseeches Your wisdom and guidance!"

The chalice seemed to wane for a moment, as though it were flickering in and out of reality, before settling once more in reality.

"What is it you seek, nave?" a voice from the chalice sneered.

"My Lord," Van Culvert said, "I beseech Your power and guidance as I continue to bring You in this world, one that is so rightfully Yours."

For a moment, nothing was said. Then, a green mist slowly began to come from the chalice, oozing over it like a fog. The mist flowed into the air, hovering there, until it began to waft down. It flowed down to Shelly, circling around her for a moment until it entered her mouth, nose, and ears. She was lifted up into the air, convulsing as the mist flowed into her. Eventually, the entire mist had entered her, and she stilled and fell back to the ground.

"She shall be my emissary," the voice said, "She shall lead you to the Sword of Kells…she shall guide you to my freedom."

"Thank you, my Lord," Van Culvert whispered.

The chalice waned once more, signaling that whatever force that had once controlled it had moved on.

"Wake her," Van Culvert ordered.

The father moved to wake her, only to back away as she suddenly breathed in, arching her back as air entered her lungs. She steadied herself and slowly rose up, sitting straight as she pulled her hair back with her hands.

"Shelly," her father uttered, and in that instant, her hand was imbedded in his throat, ripping out his trachea in a horrible display.

"I'd always wanted to do that," she whispered, her eyes still closed.

ӨӨӨ

A/N: the show never revealed how the weapons worked, though it was obvious with the mace and the crossbow, but not the trident or the sword, so I decided to base it off emotion. Also, my own experience with swords is not enough to say that one could tell the number and manner of a fold in the metal via magnifying glass, so take it as is.


	6. Even Flow

This Fire Burns…Always

_**This Fire Burns…Always!!**_

Summary: Xander discovers something old and powerful.

Disclaimer: own nothing.

ӨӨӨ

"'Tir Na Nog,'" Buffy muttered, "What is that?"

"It was the capitol, for lack of a better term, for the Faeries that existed in Ireland till their banishment," Giles said, opening the book up and scanning the pages until resting upon one in the middle, "Let's see, 'the realm of the Faeries, Tir Na Nog, rests in the eyes of the Faerie Rings, upon which mortals may encroach to seek favors and fortunes. These Rings were rendered powerless by the banishment of the Faeries, which occurred shortly after the battle between King Rohan of Kells and the Sorceress Nemain.' Odd. It doesn't speak at all of the circumstances surrounding this banishment."

"Maybe there are no records," Willow put forth.

"Perhaps," Giles responded, though it was obvious that he doubted that, "In any case, this is the only record I have of Faeries, so if it is not in this book, we are out of luck."

"I could try the Internet," Willow said.

"…Oh, very well," Giles muttered, "What would we do without that bloody machine?"

"Wither and die," Buffy said smartly, leading to a glare from Giles.

"The question was rhetorical, Buffy," Giles muttered, "Ah, here we are. According to legend, the evilest and most deceitful of all the Irish Faeries was a dark being named Mider. He was banished from the Faerie Realms and forced to use a chalice as a holding point for himself, to maintain his being. He was presumably banished along with the rest of the Faeries."

"I haven't found anything yet," Willow supplied, "Giles…what do you think happened to Xander?"

Giles said and took off his glasses, cleaning them as he said, "I wish I knew, Willow. I wish I knew."

ӨӨӨ

Lori woke up with a headache to end all headaches. Sighing, she blinked away the pain as best as she was able and gingerly sat up. She rubbed along her neck, trying to relieve the soreness, stopping as she felt something odd along her throat. She examined it with her hand for a few moments before lying down flat on the bed and looking up at the top bunk, which held a small mirror that she used.

She could see a fairly large bandage on her neck.

"…It can't have been a dream," she said, almost sadly.

"Nope," she gasped as she heard a new voice, looking to the door in fright.

Xander was standing there, a sad look on his face. He was carrying a bucket and a water bottle, along with a cloth. Sighing, he came forward and kicked a chair over to the bed, then sat down. He placed the bucket down, then handed her the water, which she took with a nod of thanks.

"…Do you want to talk about it," Xander asked.

"Talk about what," she responded, trying to dance around the issue.

"You saw someone die today," he said, "That's not something you just forget…believe me, I know."

She sighed as the memory came to her. She hadn't seen Xander kill the thief, but she had seen his partner get stabbed. She remember just how disgusting it had been, watching the knife slide easily into his side…then, she remembered the strong smell of blood as it entered her nose. She began to gag again as the memory alone made her sick.

Xander saw this and pressed the bucket closer to her, which she gratefully took as she began to vomit. Xander took the cloth and wet it with the water bottle, and waited for her to finish. Once she had steadied herself, he handed her the cloth, which she gratefully put on her head, cooling herself. He waited for a moment before picking up the bucket and carefully taking it outside and dumping it in the garden. He rinsed it out with the hose before coming back inside.

When he reentered her room, he was surprised to see her still sitting up, with a box on her lap. She was using a plate to separate some material. He walked closer and confirmed his suspicion. Sighing, he sat down again, placing the bucket before her.

"You know," he started, "I don't have a problem with someone getting occasionally high…but, you shouldn't get high to escape your feelings. It's the same as alcohol…it only dulls the pain."

"At the moment, I kinda want to be dulled," she responded, sweaty and pale from her experience.

She expertly rolled a joint up and, out of hospitality, offered it to Xander. Sighing, Xander took it, but chose not to light it. Lori quickly rolled another one, then put away her supply, stowing it in a compartment underneath the top bunk. She quickly stood up and walked outside her room.

Xander stared down at the joint in his hand. While he had never tried it before, he knew what it was capable of. He also knew that Lori was only doing this to cope with the stress she was under. While he was honestly very much against the use of drugs of any kind to deal with pain, he knew that there were some things one simply couldn't deal with unless they were inebriated in some way. Watching someone die for the first time was one of them. He remembered his first time…he had been eleven at the time. His Aunt Sophie had just been attacked by what he figured was a vampire, based upon his memory of the wound on her neck. She had lost almost all of her blood, and had suffered a stroke due to the blood loss after being found and hospitalized. He had been in the room while his parents were signing a 'do not resuscitate' form, as they were her closest living relatives. They wanted what money she had, which they didn't get.

He wasn't sure exactly how it had happened, all he remembered was watching her convulse in pain before suddenly stopping. He remembered the feeling of it…an odd, cold and warm feeling, nothing short of indescribable. That had kept him up for weeks on end, till finally he had overcome it. Then, Buffy came into his life, and so did death on a much more regular basis.

Lori came back inside, closing the door behind her. She went to work quickly, closing up all the windows with heavy curtains, causing the entire room to go pitch black. She turned on her desk lamp and opened a drawer, pulling out a box of light bulbs. She pulled out her desk chair and stood on it.

"Keep me from falling," she asked.

Xander stood and held her leg as she pulled out her light bulbs and put in two new ones, both dark. She quickly got down, using his shoulder for support, then put the chair back.

"Do you need anything from downstairs," she asked him.

"Nope," he responded, "The sword's underneath your bed."

"Just to be safe," she said, and she went underneath the bed and pulled it out, "Take it to the attic and hide it."

Xander nodded, setting off to do just that. He walked into the hallway and pulled down the door, stepping into the dank attic with care. He searched around for a second before putting the sword on top of a chest, placing a large amount of old clothes on top of it so as to hide it. As he came back down, a thought occurred to him. How was he going to get back home? Sighing, he decided that he would take care of that later on. He walked back inside the room, just as Lori was putting down a blanket on the floor.

"You joining me," she asked him.

"…Yeah," he responded, deciding that he might as well join the fun.

"Cool," she said, pulling out a packet of sticks, "Do me a favor and light two of these while I change?"

"No problem," he said, and she grabbed a few clothes and walked out the door.

Xander placed the sticks in a holder that already had a burnt incense stick in it. He pulled out his lighter and lit them up, immediately smelling the scent of cinnamon as it invaded the room. A moment later, Lori walked back into the room, dressed in a _Pearl Jam_ shirt that was rolled up, revealing her taut abs. She had on a skirt and he could make out something metallic underneath the fabric.

"Lori," he asked, "What are you wearing?"

"Me chastity belt," she responded casually, "Things happen when you get high. Me sisters will unlock it for me once we're sober again."

"…You really know how to prepare, don't you," he said in amazement.

"It's not my first time, Xander," Lori said with a grin, locking the door as she did so.

She flipped off the desk light, then turned on the main light. Immediately, the two black lights filled the room with their aura. Xander blinked at the sudden light and stared at the walls. Murals and random images were on the walls now, drawn in a marker that could only be seen through black light. He could see stars, dragons, knights, ninjas, rainbows, anything and everything that could be drawn was on those walls. He looked up and gasped as he saw the image on the ceiling: a sun with a stairway leading up to it, with the Grim Reaper at the base. Neither the stairway nor the reaper were completed yet, as the stair was intricately designed with many ornate symbols and runes, which he knew from Giles's books were Celtic in design. The Reaper was drawn in specific detail, with about half of the robe completed and the blade of the scythe done with more runes on it.

"Wow," he whispered.

"It's nice, isn't it," she smiled at him, "I've been working on it since I was fifteen. Good four years worth of work."

"It's beautiful," he said.

She smiled at him and pulled out another drawer, removing three lava lamps, a strobe light, and one of those plasma balls, held by a dragon sculpture. She plugged them all into a connector, then plugged the connector into her computer. She pulled up a program and selected a song, then plugged the connector into the wall, causing them all to light up.

"It's a program that causes the strobe and lava lamps to flash at certain notes," she explained, placing the strobe light behind the lava lamps.

_Stairway to Heaven_ resonated thru the speakers, and the strobe and lava lamps began to flash in time with the music, providing a very cool effect for the room. The plasma ball also changed colors at certain times, going from red to green to blue to yellow and a few other colors.

"Damn," Xander said, "This is going to look real weird."

"Just wait," Lori said with a smile, gathering up a large blanket and placing it in front of her door.

She finished sealing the door up and sat down on the blanket while Xander sat down beside her, leaning his head against the bed as he did so. Lori pulled out her joint and popped it in her mouth, then lit it, inhaling as she did so. Xander sighed and committed himself to this, mostly because he had never done it before and because he wanted to make her feel comfortable.

He pulled out his joint and placed it in his mouth, taking a look at Lori, who was smiling at him, still sober as she hadn't taken much yet. He pulled out his lighter and lit the joint, then took a long puff.

ӨӨӨ

Giles yawned aloud as sleep was knocking very sternly, threatening to bring him down. Willow was almost passed out, and Buffy was blinking it away. None of them had found any information on the sword or what it did, and had only come to the conclusion that it was the Faerie Mider that the cultists worshipped. Sadly, this did nothing to inform them on Xander's whereabouts…or condition.

He woke up in a fright as his telephone rang. He moved slowly, but managed to catch it on the third ring.

"Hello," he said, only to back away as music assaulted his ears.

"GILES," a familiar voice shouted from the other side, "YOU THERE?!"

"Xander," Giles responded, causing both Buffy and Willow to immediately wake up and come to the phone to listen, both motioning to give them the phone.

"Hey, G-Man," Xander said, slightly calmer, but with an odd slur in his voice, "How's it hanging? Guess where I'm in…at! Yeah, guess where I'm at!!"

"I don't know, Xander, where are you," Giles asked.

"Na-ah, you gotta guess," Xander said with a giggle, "C'mon, guess!"

"Ugh…Mars," Giles said deftly.

"Not unless Ireland suddenly is on Mars," Xander paused for a moment, "It's not, is it?"

"Xander, are you alright," Giles tried, having guesses about his condition, "Where in Ireland are you?"

"I'm fine, like a bird," Xander said, whistling for a moment, "I'm in Lori's house…we're smoking pot!!"

"I guessed as much," Giles said with a sigh, "Xander, we saw what happened at the castle-"

"What castle," Xander asked.

"The one with the sword, where you stopped a sacrifice," Giles said, his patience starting to wear thin.

"OH, THAT CASTLE," Xander shouted, "Why didn't you say so? Wait…you saw that? Were you there?"

"No, Xander, I wasn't there," Giles said.

"Are you God," Xander asked, awe in his voice, "Have I been calling God 'G-Man' all this time? Is that blasphemy? Am I going to Hell?"

"I doubt it, Xander," Giles said.

"WOO," Xander shouted, "GOD SAYS I AIN'T GOING TO HELL!! WOO-HOO!!"

"…Yes, woo," Giles remarked, "Xander, give me the number that you're calling from so I may contact you when you're…well, not high."

"Sorry, Giles, can't do that," Xander said, "It isn't my phone! That'd be rude of me!"

"Xander, please, this is important, we must discuss what happened at the castle and how to get you back home," Giles said.

"Later, G-Man, oh, wait, sorry, 'later, God.' I wanna listen to _Don't Fear the Reaper_ some more," Xander said.

"Xander, you can listen to classic rock anytime, but right now, I need you to focus," Giles said.

"How can I focus when this song is playing and all these pretty lights are flashing," Xander said, "I need to go, Giles…bye!"

"Xander, wait," Giles shouted, only for the phone to be taken from him.

"Alexander Harris," Buffy shouted into the phone, "What the Hell did you think you were doing?"

"Hi, Buffy," Xander said, "You have an odd name…BUFFY! Like a dog…here, Buffy!! Come here, Buffy!!"

"Xander, are you drunk," Buffy asked.

"No, I'm high," Xander responded with a giggle.

"…What the Hell did you think you were doing," Buffy asked again.

"I dunno, it seemed like a good idea at the time," Xander said, "Listen, I gotta go, do me a favor and tell Wills I said 'hi' and that I forgive her for being a complete bitch to me after the Fluke."

"Xander, why would you say such a thing," Buffy asked.

"Why did you sleep with a vampire," Xander said with a laugh, "Why did Giles summon a demon as a kid? Why does anyone do anything…seriously, why does anyone do anything?"

"…Goodbye, Xander," Buffy said, slamming the phone down, "Bastard."

"What was wrong with him," Willow asked.

"He was higher than a bloody kite," Giles said with a reminiscent smirk, "Sounded like he was on some pretty good stuff, too. I remember as a child," he stopped at their looks and stuttered for a moment before saying, "I never once did drugs in my life…"

"Right," Buffy and Willow said doubtfully.

"Well, at least we know he's alright," Giles said, trying to bring the conversation away from him, "And he's in Ireland."

"What did he say to you," Willow asked Buffy.

"He said that he forgave you for being, quote, 'a complete bitch to me after the Fluke,' unquote," Buffy said with a frown.

"Oh," Willow said, "Well, that's good, then."

"How is that good," Buffy wondered.

"Well, A, he forgives me, and there's really no need for a B," Willow said.

"Yeah, but, I didn't think he realized it," Buffy muttered, more to herself than anyone.

"Of course he realized it, Buffy," Willow remarked, "How could he not have noticed it?"

"Why did you call him a bastard afterwards," Giles asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"He brought up me and Angel," Buffy remarked, "Sounded like he was still jealous."

"What did he say," Willow asked, and Buffy relayed the conversation, "Sounds like he just brought up some things that he thought were very stupid of one to do than jealousy. After all, he did mention Eyghon."

"…He didn't forgive me," Buffy said with a frown, "And he called my relationship with Angel stupid…I guess."

"Well, it never was a secret he didn't like Angel," Willow said, "But, what do you mean he didn't forgive you?"

"You remember that conversation we had," Buffy said, "The one about you being distant to him to get back in Oz's good book, and me not being there for his sendoff because I was so sad over Angel?"

"…OH," Willow said, "Well, he was high. Maybe he just forgot."

"I hope so," Buffy said, though her doubt was evidenced by her voice.

ӨӨӨ

A/N: this chapter was a lot of fun to write. Took me back down memory lane to when I first got high at the tender age of 8…then to my years in the mil, when my commanders really didn't care. Good times. Lori is inspired by one of my old girlfriends from college, though I did add in the grunge to the character, as we were together quite a bit before the grunge movement started.


	7. Dragula

This Fire Burns…Always

_**This Fire Burns…Always!!**_

Summary: Xander discovers something old and powerful.

Disclaimer: own nothing.

ӨӨӨ

Xander woke with a smile on his face. He felt…well, lethargic, for lack of a better term. But, it was a good kind of lethargic feeling, like he was completely well rested, and yet, completely spent. If he didn't know better, he'd swear he'd gotten laid last night.

Actually, as he thought about it, he didn't know better. He honestly had no idea what he had done last. He tried to think, but all he could remember was…

"Oh, great," he said to himself, "I smoked enough pot to forget what I did."

"No, you didn't," a voice said.

He rolled over to his side to see who had spoken to him, only to yelp as he fell to the ground, landing painfully on something sharp and pokey that collapsed beneath his weight.

"Oh, shit," he looked up at Lori, sitting on her bed, staring at him in concern, "Are you alright?"

"…Yeah," he said after a moment, slowly bringing himself up to a sitting position, "What did I land on?"

"Me Atlantis," Lori said dejectedly.

"Huh," Xander said, and he quickly got to his feet.

He had landed on a very large blue Lego board, one that was almost completely filled with Lego pieces. He could tell based upon those still standing that it had been a large structure.

"Oh, shit," he said, turning to Lori, "I'm sorry."

"It's ok," Lori said with a sigh, "You're not used to sleeping on the top bunk. I'm just grateful that it wasn't _me_ you landed on."

"Yeah, that would not be good," Xander said, "So, what's up?"

"Not much," Lori said with a grimace as she slid from her bed to the Legos, "I only just came down, you slept your high off."

"Wonderful," he said to himself, "What did I do?"

"For the most part, you just stared at the lights and listened to the music," Lori said as she began to clean up the mess and Xander sat down to help her, "You got a bit frisky for a few moments, but when I said 'no,' you calmed down."

"That's good," he said to himself, happy that he hadn't gone too far.

"You do, however, owe me some money for the trans-Atlantic telephone call you made," Lori said.

"…Oh, shit," Xander muttered, "I called Giles. Oh, man, can I use your phone again?"

"I assume for another trans-Atlantic call," Lori sighed, "Very well."

"Thanks," Xander said, and he quickly dialed Giles' number.

ӨӨӨ

"Hello," Giles said as he answered the phone.

"Hey, Giles," Xander said, sounding slightly nervous.

"Ah, Xander," Giles said with a grin, "I trust that you came down from your high well?"

"…Yeah," Xander said, "I don't really remember what I did."

"Well, that does happen," Giles said, "It should come back to you, though, depending on how much you smoked. Willow is quite happy that you forgave her for her ignoring you after the Fluke, as it were."

"…Oh, yeah, I remember that," Xander said, "And I pissed Buffy off."

"That you did," Giles said, "And, for the record, let me say that it was quite blessed fun to try and talk her down from her rage. Really, a jolly good time."

"I'm sorry, Giles," Xander said, "If there's anything I can do to make it up to you…"

"When you get the chance, call Buffy and explain to her why you didn't forgive her for her transgressions against you," Giles said, "That's what's got her most upset. Oh, and the fact that you saved that poor girl's life, she's quite upset that you risked yourself for her."

"Yeah, that sounds like her," Xander sighed, "So, you know about it all?"

"Yes," Giles said, "I found out about the raid and did some research, and Willow tapped into the police records and found footage of the entire event. After that, we did a little digging and found the legend of Tir Na Nog."

"What do you think, then," Xander asked.

"Near as we can tell, we believe the statue is a depiction of Mider, the dark Faerie of Irish myth who opposed the Faerie Realm along with Kells," Giles said, "The ritual itself is unknown to me, but I believe it was created to bring him back from banishment."

"Makes sense," Xander said, "Those guys thought they would be made immortal for releasing him."

"It's possible, though doubtful," Giles said, "Mider, like most Faeries, is relatively less powerful than, say, a practicing witch. However, if he were to be raised to normal height, then he would be very powerful."

"So, Van Culvert, the guy who owns the castle, is wanting to release him for his own gain," Xander surmised, "Great."

"Indeed," Giles said, "We are going to go to the castle and investigate it, try and remove any materials this 'Van Culvert' might use to accomplish his ritual."

"Good idea," Xander said.

"Xander," Giles started, a serious tone in his voice, "What happened to you after you touched the sword?"

Xander sighed and quickly retold his tale, up to the point where he had gotten high with Lori.

"I see," Giles mind was reeling after that, "So, the sword is actually the Sword of Kells, and it produces fire by taking your negative emotions and emptying them from you? Sounds like quite the spiritual event."

"It is," Xander said, "It's dark out here, so I might go somewhere secluded to continue testing it out."

"Good luck, Xander, and be careful," Giles said.

"Oh, and Giles," Xander said before he could hang up, "Don't tell Buffy or Willow about this. I don't need either of them giving me a hard time for having a powerful weapon."

Giles thought for a moment. He could easily see Buffy wishing for the sword to go to her or taken from Xander for a multitude of reasons, most of them stemming from her doubting his abilities. Willow would want it because of Buffy and because it was a magical weapon.

"I see your point," Giles said, "I will honor your request."

"Thanks," Xander said, his voice sounding lighter from being relieved, "And, Giles? You're a good friend. Sorry for making a fuss about you being God."

"I found it quite flattering," Giles said with a chuckle, "We'll talk soon about transport from Ireland. Till then."

"Goodbye," Xander said, and quickly hung up.

ӨӨӨ

Officer Daniel McClure walked alongside the western wall of Sky Castle, whistling 'Hey, Jude' as he did so. He had been assigned the afternoon shift to guard the castle while the big wigs and CSI people continued to look it over. He hadn't been around for the excitement of the raid, or even when they'd cleared out the dead bodies. The going theory was that someone had found the sacrifice by accident and had infiltrated the building, which lead to the events that had occurred. The footage from the security cameras in the castle, unfortunately, had been wiped by a hacker, probably working for the cult in some capacity.

Officer McClure turned a corner and paused, looking both ways before leaning against the wall and pulling out a cigarette. He lit up and took a long drag, savoring the nicotine as it hit his system. He looked up into the sky, frowning as he saw the thunder clouds start to come in. His shift ended at seven, which meant he would have to live with the rain. Sighing, he took a few more drags before tossing it down and stamping it out.

He walked on for a few moments, until a sound invaded his ears. At first, it sounded like a bird crying out. He heard it again, but this time, it sounded like…singing? Frowning, he walked off towards the storm, determined to figure out what that sound was.

ӨӨӨ

Xander walked along the beaten path, grateful that he and Lori had found a suitable sheath for the sword. Having been born and raised in Ireland, especially in this specific part of Ireland, Lori had owned quite a few swords before meeting him, and after some digging, they had found a suitable sheath. It had an extra strap attached to it that wrapped around his shoulder, coming down his chest and abdomen to circle around. All in all, it felt better than having to carry the heavy thing in his hands.

During their search, he had finally met Lori's sisters. He could fully understand why she'd asked him not to touch them. Both were shockingly beautiful redheads, dressed in the latest trends from the States, and were shameless flirts, competing with each other for his attention. Fortunately, Lori had managed to drag him away before they could sing their siren-like claws into him.

"There's a quarry a little bit down this path," Lori explained as the two walked, her with the book of Tir Na Nog legends in hand and a CD player that was thundering out Rob Zombie's _Dragula_ as they walked, "It's usually pretty deserted, save the occasional wild animal or teenager."

"Not much difference in that," he said with a grin.

Around ten minutes later, they were at the quarry. It was little more than a large valley of stone, but it was deserted and would serve their purpose well. Xander took the sheath off his back and pulled out the sword, letting it shine for a moment before placing it in the ground.

"Alrighty, then," Xander said, "What do you think we should work on first?"

"How about controlling that thing," Lori said, sitting down on a rock as she did so.

"Sounds like a plan," Xander agreed.

He picked up the sword and held it in a battle stance that he had seen in movies. He stared at it for a few moments, working on building up enough negative emotion to create a fire. For a few moments, nothing happened, till Xander sighed and put down the sword.

"It's not working," Xander said, "All that's happening is me feeling bad."

"Is it negative emotions, or a negative emotion," Lori wondered, "You said that when that douche had me, you felt anger and rage. Are you feeling that now?"

"No," Xander responded, "I'm just feeling bad period, not angry."

"Then, focus on something that makes you angry," Lori advised, "Think of the worst thing that's ever made you angry, and focus on it."

Xander nodded, taking her advice into consideration as he raised the sword again. Sighing to himself, he thought of something small to start off with. He thought of the time Snyder had put him in detention for slamming his locker shut. He focused all of his energy on that, reliving that moment again and again as he tried to get angrier.

"The sword's glowing," Lori told him.

He looked at the sword and found that it was glowing, but nowhere near enough to produce a flame. It merely looked like a light was being shined on it from somewhere. Sighing, Xander tried again, this time focusing on the time that Cordelia had broken up with him on Valentine's Day. Slowly, when combined with the anger that he had felt from Snyder, his rage started to build up.

"It's gotten brighter," Lori said.

Xander looked at it and saw that it was glowing red, as though it had just been pulled out of a furnace. Frowning, he shifted his memory once more, coming to rest on the time when he had found out that Buffy had hidden Angel from them. He relived that event over in his head, finding them in his mansion, kissing, risking letting Angelus out to play, and the intervention, where Buffy had accused him of being jealous and showed a total lack of regard for their well-being by callously dismissing their concerns and making up excuses.

Suddenly, he felt his rage and anger leave him, and a great wave of warm calm flowed throughout his very being.

"Xander," Lori shouted.

"It's ok," Xander said, opening his eyes to look at the blade. A great pillar of fire stood in place of the blade, burning brightly in the dark night.

"That's cool," Lori said, pulling out a camera she had taken and photographing it, "Think it does anything else?"

"Let's see," Xander said.

He walked over to a large rock and measured it for a moment before lifting the sword up and bringing it down upon the rock. The flames easily sliced through the rock, melting it in a stream of lava as it cut through it.

"Cool," Lori said, walking closer to take a picture of it, "Anything else?"

"Yeah," he said, "Do me a favor and bring that tree branch over here?"

Lori quickly complied, bringing a decent sized tree branch that had fallen and died some time ago closer to them and away from any other brush or bushes, ensuring they wouldn't catch fire.

"Ready," Lori said, taking a few steps back to make sure she had both him and the branch in view.

Xander nodded and lifted the blade up, pointing it towards the branch. He focused his aim on it, then focused his mind on the time that he had stood up against Buffy, Willow, and Giles about using the soul curse on Angel again. He felt the anger and rage build in him, and quickly felt it dissipate as another wave of calm hit him. Suddenly, a hot burst of flame came forward, flowing away from the sword and through the air until it hit the branch, causing it to burst into fire before their very eyes.

"Bloody Hell," Lori shouted, "That was incredible!"

"It takes too long," Xander said, dropping the sword down and letting the flames recede, "It takes too long for me to build up enough fury to actually get fire."

"Well, you know what they say," Lori said, "'Practice makes perfect.' How do you feel?"

"…Good," Xander said, "Like…like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. For it to all happen at once is…it's a very spiritual experience."

"I'm gonna have to try it out sometime," Lori said, walking back to her rock and sitting down, "For now, how about we work on getting your armor."

"My armor," Xander asked.

"You did beat Rath Kohan, the Ice Lord of Temra," Lori reminded him, "According to the legends, King Rohan did the same in order to earn his mystic armor. Therefore, since you have his sword and beat Rath Kohan, you also have the armor. The trick is summoning it."

"…Alright, I'll bite," Xander said, "Anything in the legends about how he went about that?"

"Well," Lori opened the book up to a book marked page, "There's only one passage in this entire book about King Rohan's armor. It says, 'upon defeating the Ice Lord of Temra, the future King of Kells had so attained the Mystic Armor of Fire, forged by the Old Ones so many eons before. This courageous and noble warrior would summon his armor to him through the fire within him.'"

Xander stared at her in disbelief for a moment, then smiled and started to laugh.

"You gotta be freakin' kidding me," Xander said, still laughing, "'The fire within him!' That's all it says, 'the fire within him!' What, what, did he puff out his chest and go 'I got fire!'"

Xander puffed out his own chest and starting beating it, eliciting a few giggles from Lori as she watched him go crazy.

"Or, or maybe he farted fire," Xander said, still chuckling, "Or, maybe he had a holy hand grenade or something! OOOH, I KNOW!!"

Xander stuck the sword in the ground and stepped back. He placed his legs shoulder width apart and lifted his arms up, with his hands clasped together as though they were holding something.

"I know what he did," Xander shouted, "He went 'IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!!"

Lori, by now, was laughing outright, struggling to keep herself from falling down.

"Or, he did this," Xander said, pulling the sword out, "He assumed a heroic stance and pointed the sword into the air," he did so, "And shouted in a heroic voice 'THE FIRE WITHIN ME!!'"

As soon as he said this, the sword burst into flames and quickly flew from the blade and onto Xander, engulfing his entire body in fire. Lori sat up quickly, staring in shock as Xander was completely consumed.

"Xander," she shouted out.

For a few moments, nothing happened, and the fire continued to consume his body. Then, the fire slowly began to recede back into the sword. As this happened, Lori stared at his body, hoping that he wasn't harmed. He was far from it from what she could tell.

Once the fire had completely receded, Xander shook himself, dazed by what had just happened to him. As he did so, he noticed that his body felt heavier than it had before. He blinked away the light that was still in his eyes, slowly regaining his vision. Once it was completely back, he found that his vision was somewhat obstructed by some kind of mask. He lifted his hands up, intending to feel it, only to notice that they, too, were covered in material and heavier than before. He stretched out his arms and stared down at them in confusion.

He was covered head to toe in red and gold armor.

"Oh, you gotta be freakin' kiddin' me," Xander shouted, looking up to the heavens, "I was joking!"

ӨӨӨ

A/N: for those who are interested, check out my profile picture, it has the armor up on it. Enjoy!


	8. Through the Darkest Days

_**This Fire Burns…Always!!!**_

Summary: Xander discovers something old and powerful.

Disclaimer: own nothing.

ӨӨӨ

"That is…so…COOL," Lori said, quickly leaping off the rock she'd sat on to start taking pictures, "How does it feel?"

He was covered in red and gold armor. While the torso and legs were mostly gold, the chest plate had a dragon's head with flames coming from the mouth in red. The helmet itself was red, save the face guard, which was pure gold. Atop the helmet was a dragon's head in brilliant gold.

"Like I'm wearing armor," Xander replied dryly, "On the plus side, it's nowhere near as hot as I thought it would be."

"Wow," Lori said, taking a few more pictures before backing away and staring at him, "Wonder what it does?"

"Well, I'm no expert, but I assume it protects you," Xander said, taking a few steps to test it out and shaking around to feel how loose it was, "It feels great, like you'd think the Power Rangers felt when they wore their suits."

"Skin tight and physically exciting," Lori remarked, leading to Xander staring at her, "Oh, please, like you never noticed the girl's nipples through their shirts."

"Ah, Kimberly," Xander said with a smile, "Good times."

"So…how strong do you think it is," Lori wondered.

"I dunno," Xander said, "Grab a rock and throw it at me."

Lori shrugged and picked up a large stone and threw it at his shoulder, clipping the armor and skidding away. Xander did not visibly react to it.

"Wow," she said, "Did you even feel that?"

"Nope," Xander said, "Wonder if it can take a bullet?"

"Dunno, but I know that's not a theory to test anytime soon," Lori said, "Now, I hate to be a bother, but…how do you take it off?"

"…That's a good question," Xander said, trying to look at it better, "I guess we…take it off."

"Oh, boy, that's gonna be a chore," Lori said with a sigh, "Think it does anything else?"

"It probably does," Xander said, "Why don't we spend some time testing it and practicing with the sword, then head in for the night?"

"Wait, we," Lori asked, "Where's the 'we' in this?"

"I'll let you try out the sword," Xander offered.

"Done," Lori said with a grin, "Just make sure I don't accidentally burn down the bloody countryside."

"Done," Xander said, hefting the blade up as he did so.

ӨӨӨ

Giles squinted his eyes as he took in the scenery before him, or at least as much of the scenery as he could. A terrible storm had come up shortly after they'd left, leading to their current predicament: being lost in the desert.

"When in God's name do thunder storms come up in the desert," Giles wondered.

"At least today, apparently," Willow remarked.

"If we'd left EARLIER, maybe we could have avoided this whole thing," Buffy griped in the back.

"We COULD have left earlier, if someone hadn't spent an hour and a half fussing over Xander," Giles said back.

"Pipe down, you two," Willow shouted, "You're making me lose concentration, and considering that I have the only map, that's not a good idea."

"…Sorry, Willow," Giles and Buffy said.

"That's better," Willow said, "Now, Shea's Castle should be another mile or so up the road here."

"Everyone remember their roles," Giles asked, causing both Buffy and Willow to nod in affirmation.

Giles drove on for a few more minutes until they could see the outline of the castle, lit up from several windows. There were about seven police vehicles on site, but there wasn't a single officer in view, not even at the checkpoint.

"Odd," Giles said as they parked outside the grounds, "Where are all the policemen?"

"Probably inside, seeking shelter from the storm," Willow said, unbuckling as she did so, "Alright…let's do this."

After a quick run through the storm, the trio found themselves inside the main castle room. It was dimly lit by only a few set up lights, but it was enough toward where they could easily make out the signs of the struggle that Xander had gone through. There were evidence markers all over the place, along with chalk outlines of three bodies. There were, however, no police anywhere.

"Odd," Giles said again as they moved deeper into the main room, "There should be at least a guard somewhere."

"Keep alert, guys," Buffy said, taking point as she did so.

The trio walked deeper into the main room, with Giles immediately heading for the alter, an inquisitive eye on the statue.

"Yes, it matches the description given for Mider in the book," Giles said, looking around for more clues, "This alter appears to be made from some kind of sacrifice, similar to a crucifixion. There's a place for the sword to be held as the victim is bled."

"I don't like this," Willow said, shaking slightly as the thunder continued to boom, "It's too spooky."

"Does kinda remind you of an episode of _Scooby-Doo_," Buffy said, staring at the chalk marks.

"Somehow, I doubt there'll be a masked man at the end of this," Giles said with a humorous tone, "Buffy, why don't you and Willow search the rest of this castle over for any clues. If you happen to come upon a policeman, feed him our cover story."

"Right," Buffy said as she and Willow started for a set of stairs, "If you find anything, shout out to us."

ӨӨӨ

Xander slowly sat down on a rock as he allowed room for the armor's weight in his step. He's already lost his balance a few times during these exercises, and those had been bad enough. Trying to get back to your feet when wearing almost a hundred pounds worth of armor was bad enough without cracking his head open on one of the rocks.

After experimenting, he'd found that the armor was pretty much invulnerable, but it didn't grant him any extra powers. No super strength, speed, flight, none of the good stuff. It did, however, come with an extra power: the gauntlets let out steady streams of fire, like a flamethrower.

He sighed as he looked around, his mouth closed off by the helmet. He wished the mouthpiece was away so he could breath easier.

No sooner than that, the mouthpiece split in two and quickly moved back into the helmet with a metallic whir.

"Whoa," Xander said, "That's cool."

"Very," he looked up and was blinded as Lori took a picture of him without the mouthpiece.

"Cut it out," Xander said as she jumped down to sit next to him, "All I did was wish the mouth away so I could breath easier."

"Think you can just…wish it away," Lori said, making a hand motion as she did so.

"Let's try it," Xander said, and he quieted while he wished for the armor to go away.

After a few moments, Xander opened his eyes, finding that the armor was still in place.

"Wonderful," he muttered, "I can control certain parts of the armor, but not send it away."

"I guess it can't all be easy," Lori said, stifling a yawn, "C'mon, let's get back to the house."

"Sounds like a plan," Xander said, "You'll help me take it off once we get there?"

"Hey, what're friends for," Lori said, turning on her CD player and letting _Roadhouse Blues_ come on.

ӨӨӨ

Giles muttered to himself as he examined the statue closely, jotting down his thoughts and certain runes that he had found on the statue that he believed could be pivotal to what was going on.

He paused in his work, however, when he heard something behind him. Moving quickly, he pointed his flashlight into the darkness, scanning it with his eyes to find any onlookers.

"…Hello," he called out, "Is anyone there?"

Silence was all that answered him. With a shrug, Giles returned to the work at hand. A few moments later, however, another sound alerted him to the presence of another. Following his instincts, Giles pulled out a cross/stake weapon and walked slowly around the main chamber.

"Officer," Giles called out in a steady voice, hoping that it was simply a police officer, "Come out, if you would."

Giles slowly continued to inspect the area. A few times, he thought he had seen movement, but he couldn't be certain. He slowly came full circle in the dark room, arriving once again at the statue. Sighing to himself, he decided to return to his work. As he lowered his flashlight, though, he briefly caught sight of something in his peripheral vision. He reacted quickly, shining his flashlight in that direction, and barely caught sight of…at first guess, he believed it was a tail, resembling a dolphin or shark's tail.

"BUFFY," Giles shouted out, realizing that he was probably in over his head, "BUFFY!!"

He caught sight of it again, this time on the other side of the room. It moved too fast, however, for him to even hope to get a good look at it. He heard the scraping of something above him, and quickly pointed his flashlight up at the statue, barely catching sight of a bluish-gray arm as it moved away from the head of the statue.

Coming to a quick decision, Giles made to run for the stairs. However, before he could even make it two steps, he felt a powerful force lash out at him, sending him flying to the other side of the room.

ӨӨӨ

Willow jumped slightly as she heard something fall. She looked around, trying to figure out where the sound had come from. In doing so, she also realized something that perturbed her more than the sound: she had lost Buffy.

"Buffy," Willow whispered loudly, "Buffy! Giles! …anyone."

She began to back away slightly, scared of the world around her, till she ran into something, causing her to emit a terribly loud squeak and turn around, shining her light at it…only to find she had run into the wall.

"Way to go, Rosenberg," Willow muttered to herself, backing up slowly as she did so…directly into something else.

_Please let this be another wall_, Willow thought to herself as she stayed still for a moment, before slowly turning around.

ӨӨӨ

Buffy jumped as she heard something, like a high-pitched wail. She shined her light through the

_This cannot be good_, she thought herself as she took off towards the scream.


	9. Drowning Pool

_**This Fire Burns…Always!!!**_

Summary: Xander discovers something old and powerful.

Disclaimer: own nothing.

ӨӨӨ

"I'm really cold," Xander said at the top of his lungs, "I don't like being really cold!!!"

Lori rolled her eyes at him, not bothering to acknowledge his concerns. After getting back to her house and getting him out of his armor (which took all of four hours), they had sat down and discussed their next move. They had agreed that it would probably be a good idea for them to investigate the castles which the legends came from. While the castle that served as the center of Kells was no longer standing, the castle of Temra was still standing. It was, however, constantly guarded over by the company that owned it. Lori, however, knew of a few ways in they didn't know about.

Those ways, however, were at a cliff on the coast that was a good two hours walk from her house, and for that day, the rain was coming down hard.

"Suck it up, Xander," Lori shouted at him, "We've got a climb down the cliff ahead of us, and you'll need your strength for that!!"

Xander grumbled, but followed her word. They walked for a few minutes longer, before coming to the cliffs. He stood on the edge and looked down, whimpering slightly to himself as he saw the steep drop that lead down to the ocean.

"Is this safe," Xander shouted.

"No," Lori responded, heading down towards a path which would lead them down, "But it's not dangerous, either!! Just be sure not to slip!!"

"Easy for you to say," Xander muttered, but followed her all the same.

They climbed down the side of the cliff with relative ease, with only a few slip ups here and there which Xander and Lori were both able to correct. Finally, they approached the bottom of the cliff. As Xander started to feel leveler ground, along with a lot more water from the ocean, he could barely make out a cavern that lead deeper into the cliff.

"That's where we're goin'," Lori shouted, pointing to the same cavern he had spotted.

"Awesome," Xander returned, "I'm cold and wet and I'm about to be cold, wet, and in a dark and scary cave!!!"

"Isn't life wonderful," Lori shouted, and they shared a quick laugh before they moved further towards the cave.

ӨӨӨ

Van Culvert stared at the people on the floor which his new servant, Shelly, had brought. Shelly herself was standing off to the corner, obediently waiting for her new commands.

After his Lord had granted her a boon, he had set out to reclaim his home. With Shelly under his command, it had taken all of fifteen minutes to neutralize the police presence. Then these three had arrived, and Shelly had easily taken care of them. He was, however, very concerned as to what a Watcher and his Slayer were doing here, along with the redhead who held enough power in her to end the world.

Van Culvert considered his next move carefully. The Sword of Kells was still needed to complete the ritual, but the only way to find it would be to send Shelly out…she could find it with ease. But, then, he would be defenseless against the police presence that would surely return. He brief considered killing them all, but he disliked the idea. Someone would be here to check on them, and finding them dead would only lead to more problems down the road. But he could not see any other way out of his situation, so he would have to do it.

Sighing, he turned to Shelly with the intent of ordering her to kill them all, but the once-girl was no longer there. He turned his head and saw that she had walked to the middle of the room. She stood perfectly straight and still, her arms extended, reminding him of her on the cross. She lifted her chin so her mouth was facing the ceiling, then opened her mouth.

Van Culvert placed his hands over his ears to keep the horribly pleasant sound out of his mind. It was a high-pitched cry that compelled him to listen, but it was horribly unpleasant to his mind.

Finally, the sound stopped. He stayed still for a moment, then slowly brought his hands down and opened his eyes to examine the room around him.

All those that Shelly had captured were now kneeling before her, heads bowed in servitude. Van Culvert turned his attention to Shelly, who was now facing him with a smile on her face.

"…I'm a syren," Shelly said at his questioning look.

ӨӨӨ

Xander walked forward into the cave with a glare on his face, and the sword lit before him. The cave itself appeared deserted, though he had no idea how this cavern would lead them to the castle of Temra. That was not a concern of his at the moment, as he had faith in what Lori had told him.

His concern was the fact that the hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end…just as they had back in Sunnydale…whenever a vampire was nearby.

"Xander, what's wrong," Lori asked, she could see from his body language that he was tense.

"We're not alone," Xander whispered to her, "If you see something, tell me."

Lori nodded and turned her gaze to the cavern around her, keeping her eyes open for any sign of movement.

Xander could feel something now, he could tell that something was wrong. With a grunt, he pulled out the Sword of Kells from its sheath, positioning it forward. With a gesture, he had Lori get behind him. The two slowly moved forward into the cavern, eyes open in case of any danger.

He heard something echo inside the cave…the sound of something falling into the water.

"Lori," Xander whispered, reaching into his belt and withdrawing a stake as he did so, "Take this. If you see something, stab it in the heart."

"…Vampires," Lori asked, fear deep inside her voice.

"Yep," Xander said, "Stay behind me, and if something gets past, stab it, then run for the light."

"Aye, head for the light," Lori said with some sarcasm, "There's a real good plan."

Xander smiled in spite of himself, and due to that, he almost missed the flash of movement in front of him. With a shout, Xander summoned forth every bad memory he had and flung the sword forward.

ӨӨӨ

"Hello," Oz called as he let himself into Giles's apartment, ignoring the clutter of the papers and books as he did so, "Anyone home?"

Oz set his guitar down on the desk, sighing to himself as he ran his hand thru his pink hair. He and the Dingoes had been in Los Angeles for a while, playing gigs there. He had planned on being back the day after tomorrow, but a cancelation had made him decide to come back early and surprise Willow. Her parents, however, had said that she was out and did not know when she would be returning. So, he'd checked with Buffy's mom and, after finding out the same, he had come over to Giles's place only to find evidence that all three had been there (he could recognize each of their smells), but that they had left a while ago.

Sighing to himself, the werewolf walked over to Giles's kitchen and poured himself a glass of water, thinking on what could have happened. He figured that the most likely thing was a crisis of some kind, so, knowing Giles, there would be plenty of notes and books out with information on that crisis.

Oz walked back over to the couch and sat down, sipping at his water as he went over all Giles's notes. After a few moments, he came across a set of directions to a place called Shea's/Sky Castle.

He sat in thought for a long moment as he read over the notes Giles had made about the statue of Mider, the newest big bad they were off to face. He realized that they had probably only gone off to do a recon of the place and some investigation, but there was some forlorn feeling inside his body. He could not tell if it was his fear for Willow, for his friends, some werewolf instinct, or something else altogether, but whatever it was, it was telling him that he needed to get to them, and immediately.

He finished his water quickly and grabbed the directions to the castle and a couple of weapons, then quickly ran out the door.

ӨӨӨ

Xander made another kill with the sword, sending another vampire down to Hell, but he realized very well that this was nothing more than a delaying tactic. The vampires had circled around and slowly surrounded both of them, ensuring that escape would be nearly impossible. Lori had been scratched by one of the vampires, but had somehow managed to stake one, so they had dusted five in total. Those five, however, were fairly moot considering there were no less than ten left over to kill them.

These vampires, he noticed, were much different than their normal brethren. While they still retained the foreheads and fangs, they were each deathly skinny and extremely pale, and dressed in a loin cloth and little more. Each, however, had a strange collar on their necks. Moreover, they were not speaking at all, merely attacking and surrounding, and they stood more like monsters than men. That led Xander to believe two things: they were not normal vampires, and they were there with a purpose.

He dusted another one of them as it came at him, slicing it in two with the burning sword.

"I thought you said you used this cave often," Xander shouted out.

"I do," Lori replied, panting from the pain and fear, "I've never seen these bastards before in my life!"

Xander sighed, observing the vampires for a long moment, before noting something that he had not noticed before. The vampires had been attacking _him_, not Lori. When Lori had been scratched, the vampire had been going for him, not her. He looked down at the ground, noting that there were skulls on the ground.

If she had been through the cave before, unmolested…but no one else had, even when she had come with him…

"Fuck me," he whispered, turning his attention to Lori for one second.

In that second, however, a vampire leapt forward, attempting to sink its fangs into his skin.

"XANDER," Lori shouted out, and she pushed him down, causing the vampire to collide with her and send the two down.

Xander fell onto his back, quickly turning his attention to Lori to try and save her before the vampire sucked her dry…before finding that his intervention was unnecessary. The vampire had immediately retreated away from Lori once the two had collided and fallen, leaving her be as it joined with the other vamps.

"Lori," Xander said to her, "Lori, the vamps. They won't hurt you!"

"What, are you crazy?!" Lori screamed, "They're vampires!!!"

"That one coulda drained you dry right then, but he didn't," Xander said, kicking one of them away as he came to his feet, "They won't touch you for some reason!"

Lori stared at him in complete shock for a moment, but then she saw that not one of the vampires was focused on her. Their eyes were on Xander, and only Xander. Gulping quietly to herself, she slowly came back to her feet and quietly crept closer to Xander. She passed two vampires, one on each side, and they did nothing as she came by.

As Xander dusted another one, she came up to him, and the vampires that were immediately in front of him let her pass by. She got in front of Xander and turned around, facing the vampires as she did so, and held her hands up, completely covering Xander with her body. The vampires stared at her, hunger obvious in their eyes, but they would make no move while she stood in their way.

"…Great," Xander said with a laugh, "So…what now?"

"…Xander," Lori said with a deep breath, "I think you should go back outside."

"No way," Xander said immediately, "If I go, you go."

"Xander," Lori said, "These things won't let you pass…but they will let me pass. And they have before. For some reason, I'm allowed back here, but you are not. I think there's something goin' on here, mate…I think I need to go back there and find out what…alone."

"No, Lori, I won't-"

"Xander," Lori said at the top of her lungs, "Either you go back now, or I will go on and let them chase you out."

"…Why," Xander asked.

"I don't know," she admitted, "But…it's just…a gut feeling."

"A gut feeling," Xander said, incredulously, "…alright, Lori. But here," he handed her the Sword of Kells, and she took it after a moment's hesitation, "Call if you need any help."

They slowly positioned themselves towards where Xander was facing the entrance, and after a moment's hesitation, he took off running for the entrance, with several vampires hot on his trail. He reached the entrance, however, and the vampires would not go one step beyond.

Lori stood still for a long moment, wondering whether or not she had just condemned herself to death as the vampires stood still around her, seemingly waiting for something. Then, as one, they turned and headed back into the cave. Sighing to herself, Lori hefted the sword up and followed.

ӨӨӨ

Van Culvert watched with a smile as Shelly interrogated the witch that had come with the Slayer and her Watcher. Apparently, they were not only familiar with the boy who had disrupted his ritual, they knew where he was too. Oh, he knew that the boy had to be in Ireland, but now he had a clue where to begin the search.

His smile grew when he saw the captives take up positions to guard the castle, including the Slayer and the Watcher. Having a Slayer on his side was a novelty, one which Van Culvert truly appreciated. He also appreciated the fact that she was the boy's friend, and as such, he'd be much less willing to harm her than anyone else.

_The Lord truly does favor me_, he thought to himself before turning his gaze onto Shelly, as he was prepared to give her orders to go to Ireland. He did not, however, as he saw that her gaze was far away, her eyes and nose focused on something that he could not know.

"What is it," Van Culvert asked.

"We have company," Shelly said with a frown, "A werewolf."

"It's Oz," both turned as the entranced witch spoke, a smile on her features, "He's come to rescue us, but instead, he'll hear your song and join us."

Van Culvert and Shelly shared a look.

"She's got a point," Shelly said with a smile.

"…Very well," Van Culvert said with a sigh, "Go get him, then report back."

Shelly bowed her head before him, then moved on.


	10. Sky Pilot

_**This Fire Burns…Always!!!**_

Summary: Xander discovers something old and powerful.

Disclaimer: own nothing.

ӨӨӨ

Lori walked deep into the cave as she followed the vampires, a slight quiver flowing inside her that had nothing to do with the damp cold as she did so.

_What are ye doin', ye dumbass?! Ye shoulda followed Xander back out!_

_Aye, shoulda, woulda, coulda, quit bitching about it. These'll let you thru, but no one else. There's a reason for it, and ye hafta find out what it is._

_God damn it, after this shit is thru, I am getting SO high._

Sighing to herself, Lori focused her attention on the vampires before her, receiving a surprise as she realized that two of them had disappeared. That surprise gave way to a mixture of fear and curiosity as she saw the remaining vampires start to go down a tunnel which she had never seen before. Taking a deep breath, she hefted the sword up and prepared herself to summon up angry thoughts then run like Hell. Steeling herself, she walked into the tunnel.

It was a narrow corridor carved into the cave, so narrow that Lori actually had to reposition herself so that she was sliding through it rather than walking through. The vampires, however, were deathly thin and therefore easily capable of walking through it. As she came out, she moved aside quickly to allow any other vampires passage, though she still kept her grip on the sword firm in case they suddenly became violent.

She took a moment to examine the room that she was inside now. It appeared to be a large stone throne room, the kind which she suspected someone like Queen Maeve would have had. There was no throne, however, but there were three pedestals in the center of the floor. As the vampires took up positions alongside the walls, she walked further into the center of the room to examine what was on the pedestals.

The one furthest to the left held an ancient looking crossbow, with the drawstring all but evaporated and the metal along the bow completely rusted over. The wood had long since been decimated by termites and insects, along with rot from all the moisture in the air. She sincerely believed that were she to pick it up, it would crumple in her grip.

The next one was a large boulder-like mace secured by an equally ancient looking chain. The boulder held no spikes or anything that she would expect to be on a mace from those times, but the boulder uniquely appeared to be made of solid rock, and she could find no place for the chain to be attached to it. The boulder, it appeared, had swallowed up the chain so that it could be sued in such a manner.

The last, however, was the most interesting to her. It was a scroll, sealed up with the symbol of Rohan of Kells, Draganta, with a large flaming sword inside the center of it. She knew, somehow, that this scroll held the secret to whatever madness it was that had occurred in her life since Xander's appearance.

Sighing to herself, she looked around once more and, seeing nothing else, decided that she could take the bow and mace in one trip, but not the scroll. It was too valuable to try and take with anything less than two hands. She set the sword down beside the pedestal, and reached out to grip the bow.

The moment she touched the bow, she felt as though her body had become weightless. Then, she was blinded as a white light enveloped her, spiriting her away to God knows where.

ӨӨӨ

Oz drove his van fast and hard as his instincts were telling him that he was needed. He had no real idea what was going on, but this was not the first time he had followed his friends into that kind of situation. Besides…Willow was there, and whenever Willow was in danger, he was there to protect her. It was the male and the wolf in him that drove that, and it was one of the few things the two could ever agree upon.

As he took the exit that would lead him up to Shea's Castle, however, his instincts took a complete 180. All of a sudden, while the wolf inside him had been itching for some violence, now it was begging him to turn around and run as fast as he could. He slowed down on the road, but did not stop, listening and smelling as best as he could in the rain. He could smell the rain, the desert, even several small animals around…but he could also smell something else. It was a sweet seductive smell, like perfume or pheromones, but it was also the salty smell of the sea…and more…it was the smell of blood and death that accompanied the two.

He drove on, though, and he withdrew a knife that he had brought along, preparing himself for what he saw as inevitability. While the wolf was still begging him to turn back, he knew that he would do no such thing.

Suddenly, a sound erupted into his ears, forcing him to come to a stop as he grabbed his head in pain. It was a high-pitched singing of some sort that he had never heard before. It was sickening to his stomach and made both his wolf and himself want to hurt something, but it was also sweet and sensual in a way he could not define. A large part of him wanted to hear that sound forever, but he wanted to find whoever was doing that and rip their throats out much more than anything else.

He opened his eyes wide as the sound came to an abrupt end, and looked out onto the road. Standing before his van in the glow of the headlights was a young woman, a very pretty and naked young woman. She was staring up at him with a sweet smile that Oz did not believe for one instant. The wolf inside made its presence known again, and this time Oz felt the difference physically as the sensation of the change began to take hold.

The wolf had begged to leave, and now it was trapped in a corner…and it was lashing out.

Oz looked into his rearview mirror, seeing that his face had become much furrier and his eyes were now black pits of death and rage. He could see that his nails had become sharp talons as fur covered them. He took a deep breath to calm himself, then looked back outside.

The woman was not there.

Suddenly, his entire van shook as something impacted it from his side. He felt himself fly into the passenger's side. The feeling of being trapped multiplied by this and, as the driver's side door was ripped off its hinges, the change took full effect. The last thing he saw before he lost consciousness was a large blue fish-looking thing with razor sharp teeth, and then he felt the wolf take him.

ӨӨӨ

Shelly ripped the driver's side door off its hinges with little effort, and she licked her teeth in anticipation of the meal inside. It overjoyed her to take the will of a person with her voice, but she had never eaten someone before. It would be an experience.

She looked inside and her smile became a frown. The boy inside was staring at her with the black eyes of the wolf. That was not the way it should be, she realized. He should be completely subdued by her voice, but that was most definitely not the case. She focused all her attention on the boy as the change finished, and let out a sound to entice him into her power.

Suddenly, the wolf, as if it knew what she was doing, lunged forward and rammed into her, sending the two flying out into the desert. They rolled several feet away as the wolf bit at her, trying to kill her. Shelly growled out in pain and anger, and grabbed the wolf's back and threw it off her. The wolf flew several feet, rolling along the desert as it hit the ground, only to come back up to its feet and charge at her, teeth and claws flashing in the night.

Not to be outdone, Shelly let out a roar of rage and charged, her blue skin flashing in the night as she made for the wolf. The wolf did not let up in his charge, and neither did she.

When they met, Shelly drove her claws did into his flesh as he drove his fangs into her scales.

ӨӨӨ

Lori stared out into the air with a heavy heart, realizing that she was nowhere near the cave that she had been in mere moments before. She could see all of her hometown from where she was, so she had a good idea of where she was. She was on the cliffs that bordered the ocean, on the highest peak. She walked several feet, trying to get her bearings, and came to the very edge of the cliff. She looked down, seeing that she was at least 600 feet in the air, and that there was no way down.

"…Well, that's fan-fuckin'-tastic," she muttered to herself, "Ugh, lass, what've ye gotten yerself into this time?"

Sighing to herself, she adjusted her grip on the weapon inside her hands. As she did so, however, she noticed that it was much more solid than it had previously been. She held the crossbow out and examined it. While before it had been a rusted rotten piece of junk, it was now somehow restored to its prior wonder. The weapon was strong, made of steel with golden parts at the head and the bowstrings, along with golden plates along the sides with runes carved into the gold. The wood was now polished oak, exceeding strong from what she could tell and very light in her hands. While she suspected that the weapon should weigh a lot more in her hands, she felt as though she could carry ten of them.

She hefted the weapon up in her arms and positioned it carefully, aiming through the scope that was atop it as she did so. She reached up and grasped the bowstring, pulling it back easily as she felt no resistance. Once she heard the string lock into place, she took aim again and pulled the trigger. The string flew out from its place at such a great speed that Lori nearly lost her grip on it.

Sighing to herself, the Irish lady sat down on a large rock and contemplated what was going on. According to the legends, Queen Deirdre of Kells had had the same crossbow, called the Whirlwind Crossbow, and it was capable of sending out purple bursts of concentrated air that were capable of sending a man flying into the air…literally.

She sighed as she realized what those implications meant…she was the one who had taken the crossbow, and as such, was sent to these cliffs…that meant only one thing…she was here to face the guardian of the Mystic Armor of the Air. That meant she would have to face Sonora Sky, the Lightning Bat of Temra, Lord of the Night Storms.

She wiped the sweat from her brow as she wracked her brain to try and recall what Deirdre had done to defeat him, but she could not remember it. Sighing to herself, she did realize that in order to escape the cliff, she would have to face Sonora Sky. That meant that she would have to figure out how to work the crossbow…and fast.

She came to her feet, deciding that the weapons must all work on a system of emotions. Otherwise, they would have no control over what the weapons did. So, until that certain emotion was felt, the weapons were nothing more than ordinary weapons.

She steeled herself and pulled the bowstring back into position, then took aim. She closed her eyes and focused all of her energy on a negative memory, summoning up all the hate that she could…then, she pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

"What," she said aloud, confused as Hell.

At the very least, the bow should have let loose as it had before. Instead, nothing had happened. Lori was beyond lost at this point, but she knew that she had to figure out what was happening.

"Ok," she said to herself, "The sword works by channeling hate from the user into it. Since hate did pretty much nothing…no, wait, it didn't do nothing…it caused the bow to stop working altogether. So…wait…if it stopped working, then it stopped working for a purpose…to ensure that someone full of hate could not operate it. Alright, then, so if hate makes it stop…maybe the opposite of hate will make it work.

"Oh, God, that's the stupidest thing I've ever said in me life," Lori said to herself.

Sighing, Lori realized that it was really the only idea that she had. So, with that thought in mind, Lori hefted the weapon up again and focused…she focused on her sisters, on her brother, her granddad, on her first boyfriend, and her first girlfriend and she even focused on Xander. As she felt all the love she had build up, she also felt the familiar sensation of that emotion being siphoned out of her…only, this was different. While the sword sucked all the hate out and purified whoever it was that was using it, the crossbow instead absorbed the love and…mimicked it, for lack of a better term.

With newfound confidence, Lori smiled to herself and pulled the trigger. As she did so, a purple burst of air flowed from within the chamber, and it flew up into the sky where she had aimed it.

Lori smiled again, noticing that the bowstring had not come loose from its position. That meant that she could use it however often she liked.

As she took aim again, deciding to test herself with the weapon, Lori thought on why such a weapon would require love to operate it. The answer came to her immediately. In the olden times, women were not expected to be warriors and, if they were, they were expected to hold the fort and to kill only if absolutely necessary. The crossbow was not a weapon meant to kill anyone, it would take a lot of air to kill someone…the crossbow was meant to merely subdue them. So, what better way to ensure that the crossbow would do no real harm than to have its source be the emotion of love?

She tried it a few more times and, once she felt that she had a grasp of it, decided that the time had come for her to face the Lightning Bat. She turned to the cliff, noticing with a frown that the storm was coming back…a more frightening thought gripped her, however, as she realized that it could very easily be the Lightning Bat himself.

Sighing to herself, she summoned forth all the courage and love she had and walked forward until she came to the center of the cliff.

She raised her weapon high above her head and shouted out, "SONORA SKY!"


	11. Bold as Love

_**This Fire Burns…Always!!!**_

Summary: Xander discovers something old and powerful.

Disclaimer: own nothing.

ӨӨӨ

The lightning all around her forced her to close her eyes and jump back, especially when several bolts were dangerously close to her. She knew, however, that this was Sonora Sky messing with her. He was softening her up, preparing her for the battle at hand.

Lori wished that she had Xander's sword with her as well as the bow, but she knew that that would ultimately be reneging the opportunity to claim the armor. The legends made it clear that all the knights won their armor with their mystic weapons, and the mystic weapons alone.

A bolt of lightning landed directly in front of her, causing Lori to jump back slightly as it impacted the ground. Once the bolt faded, however, she could easily see a figure standing before her.

Dressed head to toe in black armor, the 'man' stood a good foot above her, with gauntlets made to look like talons and a visor designed to encompass the frightening features of a bat. Sonora Sky had a small black cape in the back, which humorously reminded her of Batman as he even had the ears of a bat upon his helmet, although the ears stuck out horizontally. In his hand was a boomerang in the design of a bat, once more the comparisons with Batman struck out in her mind, causing her to smile slightly, even though she knew that Sonora Sky was not to be taken lightly.

The Lightning Bat growled out, a truly frightening sound, and cracked his neck with a jerking motion as he stretched.

"Ahhh," he said in a croaking voice that made her want to cover her ears, "It has been a while since last I stretched my legs."

The rain began to come, and she silently cursed the skies for giving her another problem to deal with.

"Who are you, childe," Sonora Sky called out, "I know not of your station. State your business."

"I am Lori O'Leary of Southern Ireland," she called back, "And I have come to get the Mystic Armor of Air…and to get the Hell off this cliff!"

"Ahhh," he croaked out, "Lori O'Leary of Southern Ireland, the latest challenger for the armor. In gratitude for releasing me from my dormant slumber for these past centuries, I shall offer you one opportunity."

The Lightning Bat pointed to a spot directly to her left. Lori stared at it for a moment before feeling the earth shake beneath her. She maintained her balance as the earth opened up before her, showing her a great chasm with a winding staircase.

"You may leave here, unspoiled, and return to the cave where the Whirlwind Crossbow and Mace of Earth were left long ago," Sonora Sky croaked out, "Should you choose to remain, however, you must conquer me in combat. I advise you to turn back, O'Leary, while you still can."

Lori stared at him for a long moment, truly tempted to turn around and go back. But she knew that if she did so, she would never get another opportunity to claim the armor as her own and the armor would be lost forever. She'd always dreamed of being Deirdre inside her fantasies, and now she had an opportunity to do so. She would not turn her back on that, not when she knew that Xander would need her help later on as well.

"I appreciate the offer, Lightning Bat," Lori called out, "But a true daughter of Ireland never turns her back on a challenge. I thought ye would know that."

"Ahhhh," Sonora Sky croaked, "Very well, then, true daughter of Ireland. Prepare to meet your end."

Sonora Sky raised his head into the air, preparing to let out a scream which Deirdre had described as 'sheer agony to behold.' Lori knew the legends of the battles front and back, and she felt she was prepared for whatever the Lightning Bat had to offer.

The moment she heard him take in a breath, Lori leveled her bow and took aim, summoned forth a feeling of love, and pulled the trigger. The second the purple energy was released, Lori took off after it in a full sprint.

The energy hit Sonora Sky in the chest, knocking out the breath from his lungs. Lori followed the blast, leaping into the air and striking the Lightning Bat directly in the chest with a powerful kick. Sonora Sky fell backwards, but rolled onto his feet with ease, brandishing his baterang as he did so.

Lori took a moment to notice that, to her surprise, the baterang had a blade for its edges, making the weapon much more deadlier than she had thought it was.

"Very good," Sonora Sky rasped, "Very good…"

He lunged at her with his weapon, and she dodged to the side. She brought the crossbow up, intending on slamming his head in with the weapon, but he backed up and avoided the blow, coming back at her with a slash at her midsection. She backed up, but tripped and fell onto her backside. Sonora Sky lifted up his weapon high, preparing to do her in, but she leveled her bow and took her shot.

The blast of air hit Sonora Sky directly where she had meant to hit him…in the testicles.

The Lightning Bat bent over in pain as he felt his testicles burst into flames. Lori quickly rose up to her feet and raised her leg, kicking Sonora Sky in the face, flipping the pained sentinel onto his backside. Lori quickly kicked away his weapon, sending it over the side of the cliff, and positioned her weapon directly over his face.

"It's over," she said to him, "I've-"

Sonora Sky swept her legs out from under with his arm, sending her falling. She rolled, and nearly rolled off the edge of the cliff, but managed to hold on. Before she could get up, the Lightning Bat was atop her, his talons positioned over her chest.

"Now it is," Sonora Sky rasped to her, "Goodbye…"

Lori brought the crossbow down across his face, sending him reeling away from her. She quickly came back to her feet and launched a kick into his face, and she could hear his helmet crack underneath the force of her kick. She backed away, leveling her weapon against him.

"_Now_ it's over, Lightning Bat," she shouted out.

Sonora Sky stared up at her, slowly rising to his feet. She heard him take in a raspy breath, then chuckle.

"Yes, it is," Sonora Sky said, "Go, Lori O'Leary, and enjoy the fruits of your efforts."

With that being said, Sonora Sky disappeared in a green mist, leaving her alone atop the cliff.

Lori looked around, scanning the area in disbelief, before turning her gaze upon the crossbow, realizing exactly what that meant. She had won…and was now the Mystic Knight of Air.

Smiling to herself, she thought back to Xander and how he had summoned the armor. She wondered if hers could be summoned in a similar way, but decided that it had to be that way. She thought on what her phrase would be.

"If his was 'fire within me,'" Lori considered, looking up into the sky, she smiled slightly and raised her bow high.

"THE AIR ABOVE ME!"

ӨӨӨ

Shelly roared out in pain as the werewolf once more clawed at her face, sending her away in pain as his claws injured her as few other weapons could. She responded by kicking the wolf off of her, then following thru by leaping atop the wolf while it was still stunned, and sinking her claws and fangs deep into its flesh.

The wolf struggled valiantly against her grip, but Shelly held on firmly, knowing that it was for not as she could feel the life draining out of its body. Within moments, the wolf had stilled, its miserable existence brought to an end.

Shelly let go finally, allowing the body to hit the ground in a thud. She grinned a bloody terrifying grin as she stared down at the body, preparing herself for the meal...before stopping as she felt her master call for her.

Sighing in anger, Shelly picked up the wolf's body and carried it with her as she moved herself to the Castle. Van Culvert was waiting for her, a pleased look on his face.

"Ah, excellent," Van Culvert said as she returned, but his face scrunched up into disgust as he saw the wolf's body, "Ew. The dog didn't play nice, eh?"

"No, he did not," Shelly sighed, handing the body over to the Slayer as she did so.

"Oh, well, I trust no one has any objections over his death," Van Culvert said, his gaze focused on Willow.

"No," Willow said immediately, "He refused the gift of the song and, therefore, should have died."

"...Whatever," Van Culvert said, turning back to Shelly, "Now, I have just been granted a vision by our Lord. It appears as though that meddling child has caused the Mystic Knight of Air to come back into being."

"I apologize for yet another failure," Shelly said, bowing slightly as she did.

"Oh, posh," Van Culvert said, "Make it up to me by killing those two brats and we're square."

"No problem," Shelly said with a grin, "Just kill or can I take their will?"

"Just kill," Van Culvert sighed, "With that damnable armor on, your song will not affect them at all. And the weapons themselves will protect against your song. No, just kill them."

Shelly nodded, her teeth flashing in delight at the prospect of killing the two 'knights.'

"Come, stand in this circle," Van Culvert indicated.

ӨӨӨ

The entranced Buffy spared not even a glance as she deposited the still body of her werewolf friend Oz on the top corridor, where he could be seen from below. She quickly moved back down towards the lower level, intent on joining her fellow servants.

As she left, however, she did not see the werewolf begin to slowly transform, slowly becoming Daniel Osbourne once more.

The young man groaned out in pain, tossing as he attempted to completely wake up. Slowly, however, the musician became fully conscious. He noted first that he was very sore, and then very cold, and finally, he found that he was naked.

"Again?" he asked, sighing as he attempted to recall all that had happened.

All his questions were put to an end, however, as he heard someone beneath him. Sighing, the musician looked down, and immediately felt two sensations: joy upon seeing Willow, Buffy, and Giles were safe, and then rage upon seeing the creature that had attacked him.

Oz slowly came to his feet, mindful of his injuries, and looked out upon the scene before him. An old man was standing beside her, though they were separated by a circle of what he thought to be rice. He turned his gaze to his friends, starting with Willow, and found her to be...staring at the two with a look of absolute subservience.

Sighing, Oz easily pieced together what had happened. His friends had heard the creature's song and come over to its side. He felt the wolf rear up again, sensing that the pack was in danger, but Oz managed to quell it with considerable effort.

He looked back down and saw, with a gasp, that they were doing a spell...a teleportation spell, if he remembered Willow's lectures correctly. He noted immediately that they were nearing the end of the spell, so, Oz did the only thing he could think to do.

He grabbed a large piece of wood nearby and leaped off the top of the corridor, flying as he let the wolf once more, and collided with the creature just as the spell was completed.


End file.
